Did you know that eating the right foods would not only make you feel great but may also affect new hair growth?
According to Joy Bauer, TODAY nutritionist, healthy hair depends on the body's ability to construct a proper hair shaft, skin and follicles. Good nutrition assures the best possible environment for building strong hair.
Joy's four part receipe for a healthy hair diet includes:
1. Iron-rich protein
Protein in necessary for all cell growth, including hair cells. Hair gets its structure from hardened proteins called keratin. Without enough protein for keratin, hair grows more slowly, and the individual strands that do grow will be weaker.
Examples of iron-rich protein include clams, oysters, lean beef, turkey, duck, lamb, chicken, pork, shrimp, and eggs.
Examples of vegetarian iron rich protein include tofu, soybeans, lentils, beans and black-eyed peas
2. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is used to form collagen, a structural fiber necessary for the body to maintain integrity by holding it all together. Hair follicles, blood vessels, and skin all require collagen to stay healthy for optimal growth of beautiful hair.
Examples include guava, pepers, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, pineapples, papayas, lemons, brocolli, kale and brussels sprouts.
3. B-vitamins, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12
These vitamins are involved in the creation of red blook cells, which carry oxygen and nutrients to all body cells, including those of the scalp, follicles, and growing hair. Without enought B vitamins, the cells will not thrive, causing shedding, slow growth, or weak hair that is prone to breaking.
Examples of vitamins B6 include fortified whole-grain breakfast cereals, gabanzo beans, wild salmon, lean beef, pork tenderloin, chicken breast, white potatoes (with skin), bananas, and lentils
Examples of vitamin B12 include shellfish (clams, oysters, crab), wild salmon, fortified whole-grain breakfast cereal, soy milk, trout, lean beef, and low-fat cottage cheese.
Examples of folate include fortified whole-grain breakfast cerals, lentils, black-eyed peas, soybeans, oatmeal, turnip greens, spinach, green peas, artichokes, okra, beets, parsnips, and brocolli.
4. Zinc
The minearl zinc is involved in tissue growth and repair, including hair growth. It also helps keep the oil glands around the hair follicles working properly. Low levels of zinc can cause hair loss, slow growth, and dandruff.
Examples of zinc include oysters, lean beef, crab ostrich, pork tenderloin, peanut butter, wheat germ, turkey, veal, pumpkin seeds, chicken, and chickpeas.
Hair growth may vary between 1/2 and 1 1/2 inches per month (depending on personal differences). It may therefore take about a year to notice the effects of your nutritional changes.
Today.(2007, January 25). Losing your locks? These foods can help. Retrieved March 7, 2007,www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16796808.
