Have you been noticing that your hair is thinning or that you are losing more hair than normal? There are a variety of reasons for hair loss and there are natural solutions for how to have healthy hair including making sure your diet includes particular foods for healthy hair.
Reasons for Hair Loss
Hair grows in phases. According to Lucinda Ellery, women’s hair restoration expert, most people have 150,000-200,000 strands of hair. Around 100 of these strands are shed per day. Each one of your hairs has a growing phase of 2 to 3 years in which the hair grows about 1/2 inch each month and then a resting phase of 3 to 4 months. Hairs then are shed and new hairs grow to replace them. As we age and our bodies go through changes, so does our hair. The phases slow down which may mean growth does not happen quickly enough to replace the amount being shed. This is true for women as well as men. Many men experience male pattern baldness by age 60 linked to patterns in genes and sex hormones. Women can also have a form of pattern hair loss that may be hereditary. Instead of the typical receding hairline men experience, women usually see their hair thinning in places or a wider part line.
Dr. Mickey Barber, president of Cenegics Carolinas, says that the three biggest causes for hair loss are stress, iron deficiency, and hormone changes. Hair loss can also be a result of a lack of certain vitamins in your diet or too much vitamin A, physical trauma, or various health conditions. In the case of physical stress to the body, hair will generally grow back as the body heals or recovers. If you take more than 5,000 IU of vitamin A daily, then according to the American Academy of Dermatology, you may experience hair loss. This can be reversed by simply backing off to the recommended amounts of vitamin A. Other reasons for hair loss can be a direct result of your diet. Your hair needs specific nutrition to be healthy. Nutritionist Rania Batayneh, author of The One One One Diet, explains that if you don’t get enough of the right type of foods for healthy hair, chances are the nutrition you do get is routed to parts the body considers more important than hair, like muscles and organs. That leaves your hair literally starving for nutrients it needs to grow and glow.
Nutrition for Healthy Hair
Some of vital nutritional elements hair needs to be healthy are:
Protein
Hair is made up of mostly protein so getting enough protein in your diet to build muscle and to have enough left over to nourish your hair is a must. Healthy proteins include lean types of meat such as white meat poultry, beans, lentils, tofu, kale, broccoli, squash, dairy and eggs. Eggs not only are a good source of protein, but also give you vitamin D, zinc, selenium, sulfur, and iron for hair health. AFA bluegreen algae is another good source of protein as it has 75% usable high quality protein as well as vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids and trace minerals.
Vitamin B and Biotin
Low levels of vitamin B can also contribute to hair loss. Bioton is an essential B vitamin that promotes healthy hair growth, increases hair elasticity (prevents breakage), and protects against dryness. Another great thing about biotin is that it also contributes to the healthy digestion of fats and carbohydrates. We can replenish the body’s supply of B vitamins naturally by replacing the probiotics or “friendly bacteria” in our intestines. These friendly bacteria produce the B vitamins in our bodies and taking probiotic supplements like acidophilus and bifidus can give your body a boost to keep producing these vitamins. You can also get biotin in foods like beans, breads, egg yolks, fish, liver, meat, dairy products, nuts, peanut butter, whole grains, and poultry. Lentils are another good source of biotin and give you the protein, iron, and zinc needed for healthy hair. Greek yogurt is a good source for another B vitamin, B5 or pantothenic acid as well as vitamin D, both good for hair and follicle health.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
You may know that omega 3 fatty acids are good for your brain, but they are also good for your hair, follicles and scalp. Our bodies don’t produce omega-3 on their own so we must get them from food sources. Salmon, tuna and other fatty fish, walnuts, avocado, Brussels sprouts, flaxseeds, olive oil and AFA bluegreen algae are all rich in omega 3s. Walnuts not only give you omega 3 fatty acids, but also biotin and vitamin E which contribute to healthy hair.
Zinc
Zinc helps keep glands on the scalp healthy that produce oils to help hair grow. Oysters, beef, wheat germ, nuts, eggs, and chickpeas are all zinc foods for healthy hair.
Iron
Iron is needed for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. That includes oxygen to your scalp necessary for hair to grow. Foods with iron include red meat, egg yolks, oysters, dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, whole grains, beans, peas, lentils, and AFA bluegreen algae.
All In One Nutrition
For those of you on the run with busy schedules, you can get all these nutritional elements in these convenient packets of capsules that contain two forms of AFA bluegreen algae, acidophilus, bifidus and a digestive enzyme. A box has 30 packets so you’re set for the month to grab the nutrition your hair and the rest of your body needs as you head out the door. Nutrition and eating foods for healthy hair are a key ingredient in keeping your hair growing, strong and looking great.
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Image courtesy of phasinphoto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Sources:
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20727114,00.html?xid=healthforwomen04072014
http://www.webmd.com/beauty/hair-styling/top-10-foods-for-healthy-hair
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/07/hair-loss-foods-to-eat_n_3319975.html
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/22/foods-that-prevent-hair-loss-how-to-get-7-essential-anti-balding-nutrients/
