13 Essential Nutrients for Hair Growth. Boost Your Locks Naturally
Have you imagined that hair plays a major role in our well-being and happiness? Having healthy hair contributes to enhancing our self-image, improving our self-confidence, and positively affects the quality of our lives. However, hair-related problems, such as loss and dryness, are pervasive, especially in the transitional period between seasons.
- We may imagine that topical products and nutritional supplements are the best ways to care for hair, but we ignore the main factor for enjoying strong hair: nutrition.
- Your hair gets its nutrition from your body, and if you do not provide your body with its sufficient needs, then you are undoubtedly harming your body and hair together.
- In this article, we will learn about the most important elements that your hair needs and the foods that contain them, so that incorporating them into your diet will give you thick and healthy hair.
All cells in your body need vitamin A to grow healthily, and this includes the fastest-growing tissue in the body, which is hair. Vitamin A supports the secretion of fatty substances that moisturize the scalp and help maintain the health of your hair.
- If you suffer from hair loss, monitor your diet to see if it lacks this important vitamin.
- You can get your daily needs from plant sources, including sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, kale, peaches, and spinach.
- Animal sources include milk, dairy products, and eggs.
- It may not be known to everyone, but it is one of the best nutrients for the health of your hair, as it works to strengthen hair follicles and cells and helps the scalp remove dead skin and also grow new cells.
- It is also believed to play a role in reducing gray hair and natural hair loss resulting from aging.
- The list of foods rich in vitamin B5 includes eggs, chicken, liver, and mushrooms, in addition to broccoli, potatoes, dairy products, and avocado.
- Vitamin B12 promotes cell division and growth, which accelerates hair growth. In addition to its role in preventing hair loss, it helps absorb iron, a deficiency of which may cause hair loss.
- Animal foods are the most rich in vitamin B12, such as oysters, salmon, tuna, beef, chicken, cheese, yogurt, and eggs.
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4. Vitamin CIt is one of the most important antioxidants that may protect your hair from oxidative stress. Your body needs vitamin C to produce collagen, which is an important part of the hair structure. It also supports the absorption of iron, which is beneficial for hair growth.
Foods rich in vitamin C include the citrus family, such as oranges, grapefruit, and lemons, and the cruciferous families, such as broccoli, kale, red cabbage, and cauliflower, along with sweet peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes.
5. Vitamin DOur body produces vitamin D through exposure to sunlight, and we obtain it from sources such as fatty fish, including salmon, sardines, and herring, as well as mushrooms, eggs, dairy products, and liver.
6. Vitamin EIt is one of the powerful antioxidants that can promote hair growth. It also supports and helps blood circulation by increasing oxygen absorption, which helps the body produce new hair.
Its most important sources are wheat germ, sunflower, and soybean oils, in addition to nuts such as almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, and sunflower seeds, as well as beets, cabbage, spinach, pumpkin, asparagus, mango, and avocado.
7. Protein- Our hair is mainly made of protein, so consuming enough protein is crucial to having strong, healthy hair. Low protein consumption makes your hair brittle, dry, and weak, and low-protein diets cause hair loss.
- The most important sources of protein are meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
- Iron deficiency is one of the main causes of hair loss, as low iron levels may lead to anemia, which disrupts the flow of nutrients to the hair follicles, which reduces hair growth and may cause hair loss.
- Animal products provide heme iron, which is the easiest to absorb, such as red meat, chicken, oysters, eggs, liver, shrimp, and fish.
- Non-heme iron is also available in peas, lentils, figs, dates, raisins, broccoli, green beans, and dark leafy vegetables.
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9. Zinc- It is one of the most important elements for maintaining hair, as it helps hair cells divide naturally. If you do not consume enough zinc, you may suffer from hair loss.
- Rich sources of zinc include red meat and seafood. Legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains contain good proportions of zinc, and dairy products contain small amounts.
- It is an important element for many body processes and helps to strengthen hair follicles, and its deficiency leads to hair loss and possibly baldness.
- The best sources of magnesium are nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin seeds, which provide you with only a quarter cup, about half of your daily needs.
- Other sources include legumes such as black beans, whole grains rich in fiber, and spinach. Dark chocolate, bananas, avocados, and low-fat dairy products also contain magnesium.
- Omega 3 is found in the cells lining the scalp and provides oils that moisturize your hair and scalp.
- Your body cannot make Omega-3, so you need to get it from oily fish including salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, and anchovies.
- In addition to plant sources such as flaxseed oil, canola oil, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.
- Low folic acid contributes to decreased hair follicle cell growth and division, so taking it reduces the risk of hair loss and prevents the appearance of thinning hair in the future.
- Legumes are excellent sources of folic acid, in addition, eggs and leafy vegetables are good sources along with citrus fruits.
- Biotin plays an important role in the metabolism process, as persistent poor metabolism leads to reduced nutrition for hair follicle cells, so a deficiency of biotin may lead to hair loss.
- It is also important for maintaining hair texture and strength, and those who consume a sufficient amount of protein maintain a healthy percentage of biotin, while vegetarians are at risk of biotin deficiency.
- Excellent sources of biotin include liver, eggs, brown rice, and legumes, especially peanuts and soybeans. Seeds and nuts are good sources of biotin.
In the end, remember that the more you maintain your physical and psychological health, this will reflect positively on the health of your hair, but if you suffer from problems such as hereditary or hormonal hair loss, the diet may not be sufficient to maintain your hair, and you should consult your doctor.