Best Foods for Healthier Hair

Best Foods for Healthier Hair

When it comes to healthy hair, it’s not just what you put on your hair that counts -- it’s what you put in your body, too.

 New York nutritionist Lisa Dryer MA, RD, author of The Beauty Diet says"Just like every other part of your body, the cells and processes that support  vibrant and strong hair depend on a balanced diet," 

It can take longer to notice changes (both good and bad!) in your hair than in your skin. For example, "just one week with a poor diet can yield acne flare-ups or dry, sallow skin within days," New York City dermatologist Cybele Fishman, MD, says "just one week with a poor diet can yield acne flare-ups or dry, sallow skin within days, but with hair, it can take a few months for a nutritional deficiency or the effects of a crash diet to show up."

The nutrients you eat today help fortify the hair follicle -- from which each strand is born -- and the scalp that surrounds it. "Healthier follicles? Healthier hair. Healthier scalp? Healthier hair!" Dryer says.

Of course, there's more to your hair than what you eat. Smoking, hormonal imbalances, and not enough sleep can also affect how your hair looks. No magic nutrient can make up for those concerns.

 If you eat a balanced, varied, protein-rich diet that focuses on the following foods, you'll be giving your hair the TLC it needs and deserves.

1. Salmon

Besides being rich in protein and vitamin D (both are key to strong hair) the omega-3 human extra fat discovered in this tasty cold-water salmon are the true superstar. Your whole body can't create those human extra fat, which your body demands to grow hair. About 3% of the hair base is create up of these human extra fat, Dryer says. Omega-3s are also discovered in cell walls in the skin of your head, and in the sebum that keep your scalp and hair hydrated.

Other options: If fish doesn't thrill you, you can also get fat from seafood like sardines, trout, and mackerel, as well as grape, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts (see below for more wonderful things about peanuts)

2. Walnuts

These are the only type of nut that have a lot of omega-3 body fat. They're also loaded with biotin and supplement E, which allows secure your tissues from DNA damage. Since your hair hardly ever gets much protecting from the sun, this is especially great, Clothing dryer says. Too little biotin can cause to thinning hair. Peanuts also have copper nutrient, a nutrient that allows keep your natural hair shade wealthy and shiny, Fishman says.

Other options: Try using walnut oil in your healthy salad putting on a dressing or stir-fry instead of canola or safflower, Fishman says.

3. Oysters

Oysters are loaded with zinc oxide, a deficiency of which can lead to thinning hair (even in your eyelashes), as well as a dry, flaky scalp. Three oz. has a huge 493% of your everyday value. You can get some zinc oxide through prepared cereal products and whole feed bread, but oysters can feature a good level of proteins too. "Remember, hair is about 97% proteins," Dryer says. Without enough proteins, your body can't substitute the hair that you normally reduce every day and what you do make can be dry, poor, or poor.

Other options: Get your complete of zinc oxide with nut products, meat, and egg.