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Hair is a huge part of our appearance! It frames your face and is a sign of youth and beauty in both men and women. A thinning hairline can be a devastating blow to self-esteem, so it’s no surprise that we all want to keep our hair as thick and luscious as possible.
It might sound counterintuitive, but you can actually get thicker hair just by improving your diet. All foods offer a set of nutrients that help nourish the body, and we’ve compiled all the nutrients that play an important role in hair growth and health. Read on to find out what food you should eat to avoid hair loss!
Nutrients Important For Hair Growth
Good, healthy food contains nutrients that benefit the body in many ways. To prevent hair loss, you’ll want to increase your intake of the following nutrients.
- Protein: In biological terms, hair is simply a long chain of proteins. Thus, you’ll need a steady supply of protein if you want to keep your mane healthy.
- Iron: Your hair follicles are fed by blood vessels. Too little iron in your system disrupts the blood supply, and this interferes with hair growth, potentially even leading to shedding.
- Vitamin C: This vitamin helps the body in three significant ways. It helps the absorption of iron into your body. It’s an antioxidant, helping protect your body from free radicals. It helps produce collagen, which strengthens blood vessels, including the ones that feed hair follicles.
- Omega-3 acids: These are within the cells of your scalp, providing oils that hydrate your skin and hair. The human body cannot make omega-3 acids on its own, so your diet has to incorporate them.
- Vitamin A: Along with omega-3 acids, vitamin A helps care for your hair. It plays a part in maintaining the oils that keep your hair healthy and conditioned. It has also been linked to increases in hair growth rate.
- Biotin: It’s also known as vitamin B7. It helps your hair grow faster, and a deficiency in Biotin is linked to hair loss.
- Zinc: Keeping your zinc up is important, as zinc deficiency leads to hair loss. Zinc also keeps the oil glands in your hair follicles working, and it assists in hair growth and repair.
- Vitamin E: It’s an antioxidant just like vitamin C, and it also helps keep your hair and scalp shiny and healthy.
These are not the only nutrients that benefit the hair, but these are the ones that you should prioritize when assembling your diet.
Also, note that diet is not the only factor to consider. Hair loss may also occur as a result of male or female pattern baldness, anemia, thyroid disease, or other health conditions. Consult your doctor to see if you have any conditions that might be causing hair loss.
Foods To Prevent Hair Loss
Now that we know the nutrients, let’s look at the food. This is our recommended list of foods to add to your diet to avoid hair loss.
Spinach
Your mother had a point telling you to eat your vegetables. Spinach is an excellent food for hair growth, being rich in iron, magnesium, folate, and vitamins A and C, making it a nutrient-dense food that will keep your hair healthy and thick.
Oily Fish
This refers to fish such as herring, sardines, mackerel, trout, and salmon. Oily fish is your best source of omega-3 fatty acids, so they’re great for overall health! They’re also good sources of protein and vitamins D3 and B.
Seeds
They may be small, but seeds pack many nutrients into a small, low-calorie package, and they’re easy to put into recipes. Their benefit depends on the kind of seed; for our purposes, we recommend chia, pumpkin, and flax seeds. All three are good sources of protein and omega-3 acids. Sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of vitamin E.
Berries
Like seeds, berries are a low-calorie, nutrient-rich food that can improve your health. Their main health benefit is being a rich source of antioxidants, especially vitamin C. They also contain other nutrients like manganese, vitamin K, and folate.
Sweet Potatoes
Two particular vitamins are common in sweet potatoes: vitamin A and vitamin B6. Sweet potatoes are so rich in vitamin A that you’ll only need about 30 grams of sweet potato to fill your daily need of vitamin A.
Beans
When you need a non-animal source of protein, beans are an excellent choice, and they’re also a good source of zinc, which helps in the cycle of hair growth. Beans also supply iron, biotin, and folate.
Eggs
A versatile food, easy to add to almost any dish. Eggs contain good amounts of protein and biotin, both of which keep your hair follicles healthy and well-supplied.
Nuts
Not only are nuts an easy addition to your diet, but they also pack a good amount of nutrients. Vitamin E is most prominent, along with zinc, essential fatty acids like omega-3, and a range of B vitamins.
Meat
Though we advise against eating too much meat, it does have its benefits. Red meat is an excellent source of protein and bioavailable iron.
Oysters
Some doctors recommend oysters as a good source of iron and zinc. Since hair growth is dependent on a good blood supply, keeping your blood well stocked with iron is important. Zinc also keeps your hair healthy.
Avocados
Avocados provide a good amount of vitamin C, vitamin E, and folate; all of which prevent hair loss.
Conclusion
The right nourishment does wonders for your body, in both appearance and overall health, and this extends to your hair. But when it comes to fighting genetic pattern baldness, a good diet is just a supplementary treatment.
If you want to reverse the early stages of baldness and restore a thinning hairline, Finasteride tablets and minoxidil spray can revitalize shrinking hair follicles, and FUE transplants can completely fill in any bald spots.