Do you notice you seem to be losing more hair these days? Why not try a natural prevention approach! Eat these five tasty nutrient-dense foods your body craves.
When your hair starts thinning and you notice more coming out in the brush every day, your first reaction is usually to wonder how you can fix it.
What steps can you take to strengthen your hair and keep it from falling out?
The easiest place to start is with the foods you eat.
Changing your diet might not sound like it has anything to do with hair loss, but they are very connected. Putting the right things into your body will get you the results you want out of it.
That’s why you should start eating these five foods today to prevent your hair loss.
Nutrients Important to Hair Health
Before we talk about specific foods, we want to mention what makes these foods so good for your hair. There are a few things you want to look for to build the foundation your hair needs to grow healthy and strong.
Protein and biotin are both essential building blocks for your hair. Without them, your hair lacks strength, causing it to break and fall out more frequently.
You also need to pay attention to your scalp to encourage healthy hair growth. Iron and omega-3 fatty acids are two nutrients that keep your scalp in tip-top shape. They ensure there’s plenty of blood flow and hydration to grow strong strands.
As for vitamins, look for foods containing vitamins A, B, C, and E to give your hair its best chance.
The five foods below all contain one or more of these crucial nutrients to help put a stop to your hair loss troubles. Let’s take a look at what you should be adding to your plate right now!
1. Spinach
Leafy greens classify as a superfood, and spinach is one of the most powerful.
Spinach contains:
- iron
- vitamin A
- vitamin C
- omega-3 fatty acids
- magnesium
- potassium
- calcium
Unsurprisingly, you’d be hard-pressed to find a health-related food list without spinach included.
A lot of those nutrients contribute to healthy hair growth but where spinach shines is in your scalp.
Not only does spinach have plenty of iron to aid in blood flow to your scalp, but it also aids in the production of sebum. Sebum is an oily, waxy substance secreted by skin glands that both moisturizes and protects your skin.
On your scalp, sebum is essential to keeping your hair hydrated, which means it won’t go dry and brittle and start falling apart on you.
2. Nuts
Snacking on a handful of nuts every day is a great way to look after your hair. Almonds, walnuts, and cashews are convenient to carry with you and easy to munch on whenever you feel a bit peckish.
The main reason nuts are so good for your hair is because they are full of vitamin E. (An ounce of almonds contains 37% of your daily vitamin E needs.)
But that’s not all they provide!
Nuts are also a great source of vitamin B, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc. All that goodness in one small package keeps your hair strong and supple while preventing excessive breakage.
If you’re not a fan of raw nuts, try cooking with them to create a tasty meal. Or add some nut butter to your grocery list instead!
3. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a vital source of one particular vitamin that promotes hair growth and even makes your hair grow faster.
While it’s in the sweet potato, this nutrient is beta-carotene. But as soon as you digest your favorite sweet potato recipe, your body converts the beta-carotene into potent vitamin A.
Besides aiding in cell growth to kick your hair into gear, vitamin A also helps your body create more sebum. Keeping your scalp moisturized while your hair is growing.
Vitamin A deficiency is one thing that leads to hair loss, so you want to make sure you’re getting enough of it in your diet.
Beta-carotene also lies in other orange fruits and vegetables.
Such as:
- carrots
- butternut squash
- cantaloupe
- apricots
Which means you definitely have options on what to eat.
4. Fatty Fish
Fatty fish like salmon, herring, and mackerel are a top source of omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are essential to your overall health, and helping keep your hair on your head is just one facet of what they can do for you.
Omega-3 fatty acids send essential proteins and nutrients to your scalp. They also help prevent inflammation of the hair follicles, a contributing factor to hair loss.
Fatty fish contains protein, vitamin D, and vitamin B as well.
Vitamin D helps the creation of new hair follicles to spur new hair growth. Vitamin B helps transport oxygen and nutrients to your scalp to keep your follicles healthy.
And hair is primarily protein, so you definitely can’t overlook it!
Some people find it hard to get into eating fish, but your hair will thank you for it.
Why not try to mix it up with some creative ways to cook salmon that you might not have thought of before?
5. Red Meat
Speaking of protein…
Red meat is the heavyweight when it comes to protein content. If you’re not opposed to eating meat, you should definitely think about incorporating it into your diet more. That way, you can treat your hair to the nutrients it needs.
Just like protein helps you build muscle when you work out, it makes your hair more robust as well!
Aside from essential protein, red meat is rich in a type of iron that’s very easy for your body to consume. In fact, your body generally absorbs up to three times more iron from animal sources than any other.
Getting enough iron means your red blood cells have a much easier time delivering oxygen to your hair follicles. This keeps them in good shape for healthy hair growth.
That means it’s time to break out more of your favorite ground beef dishes for dinner!
In Conclusion
Losing hair isn’t a fun thing to deal with. While there may be underlying causes that a brand new diet can’t help with, you may see the change you’re hoping for by eating foods that are good for your hair.
There’s no reason not to give it a try!
Make a plan and cook up some delicious meals to see if these five foods give your hair a fighting chance. The stronger your hair gets, the less likely you are to lose it.
Author Bio:
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with The Verge Asheville to help them with their online marketing.
