Eat A Balanced Diet For Great Hair

This is the first of the healthy lifestyle challenge.

A healthy body is what supports healthy hair and nutrition tops the list for achieving this. There is a saying which goes, “We are what we eat.” It is vital to eat a balanced diet at all times and yes including those dreaded carbs and fats to keep your body functioning at its best.

Avoiding diets where you are only allowed to eat one or two food groups is the first step. These fad diets are so bad for the body in the long run. Besides gaining all the lost kilos back in no time, you may cause so much damage to your system and it could lead to flat, thinning hair and excessive shedding. What you need to shed all those unwanted kilos is not another crash diet but a lifestyle change including making better food choices. These are some of the foods you may include in your diet to support healthy hair.

Iron rich foods. These are your lentils, sweet potatoes, potatoes with skin, peanuts, sunflower seeds, molasses, flaxseeds, beef, chicken, spinach etc. These foods are important in your diet to avoid anaemia which is an iron deficiency. If your body lacks iron, it cannot produce enough haemoglobin which is the substance that makes red blood cells carry oxygen to the body’s tissues. If your body has poor circulation, your whole body suffers including your hair.

Vitamin B12. Chicken, yogurt, cottage cheese beef liver, brewers yeast and eggs all promote healthy hair

Carbohydrates will give you thicker hair. Try and choose whole grains though because processed ones may raise your sugar levels and cause you to accumulate fat around your waist.

Vitamin A and C will help increase the production of sebum resulting in healthier hair. Include foods like, cheese, eggs, carrots, spinach, fruits and tomatoes in your diet for this.

Calcium is said to promote hair growth. There is some contradicting information on the internet concerning how calcium benefits hair. However, what I can say is calcium does form an important part of a healthy diet and is vital for our bones and teeth. Calcium rich foods are your spinach, milk and dairy products, broccoli and sesame seeds.

“Calcium also helps with the contraction and relaxation of muscles, nerve signaling, blood clotting and with the secretion of hormones and enzymes. Hormones such as androgens, stimulate hair growth; enzymes such as biotin promote cell growth and strengthens healthy growing hair.”Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/289677-calcium-hair-loss/#ixzz2KcVxFpSn

Protein is also important to avoid brittle hair. You can get protein from meat, milk and eggs.

The list of the foods you need to eat is indeed endless because here I did not even touch on tea which provides antioxidants and oils like olive oil. So just keep it real but make sure all the food groups are included in your diet.

Personally I do not think it is necessary to take supplements to grow healthy hair unless a health professional actually recommends it because your body really needs that extra nourishment. Otherwise, aim to get it all from the food that you eat because in any case, our bodies only take what they need and the rest goes to waste so why spend so much money buying supplements. Try eating a balanced diet, whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, avoiding processed foods and sugar, and your body will respond positively.

According to Mayoclinic.com, hair loss could occur from having poor nourishment and rapid hair loss is often a symptom of malnutrition.