Hair Loss and Diet: What to Eat for Healthy Hair?

A healthy diet can help your hair stay strong and shiny. What you eat can also keep you from losing your locks. You might see the effects on your hair if you are not getting certain nutrients from food. The right foods can be good for your hair, but hair loss has many causes. Sometimes, genetic factors like male or female pattern baldness can play a role. Thyroid disease, anaemia, autoimmune diseases, and hormone issues may also cause hair changes or loss.

Medication that can be used for hair growth:

• Minoxidil and Aminexil Topical Solution is an effective topical treatment for hair loss and male pattern baldness. Both men and women use it. It is also ideal for hair loss caused by hereditary. The solution will slow down or even stop hair loss. It prevents hardening of the hair shaft. It is clinically tested to be applied on the scalp.

What is the Role of Protein in Hair Growth?

Your body uses proteins to build tissue cells — including hair, skin, and nail cells. Eighty to eighty-five per cent of your hair is composed of a protein called keratin. Dietary proteins are composed of amino acids, which are your hair’s building blocks — they make your hair strong. Amino acids can be divided into two categories: essential and non-essential. Essential amino acids cannot be synthesized by the body and so must be obtained through the diet. Non-essential amino acids can also be obtained from food and manufactured by the body from essential amino acids.

Without sufficient protein, your hair can become brittle and fall out before it reaches its entire length. It is one of the reasons why people with a low-protein diet often find their hair will not grow past a certain length.

If you experience hair loss from a lack of protein, try not to worry. It is reversible and relatively easy to correct with adjustments to your diet. We suggest including at least 120g in weight of a protein-rich food with every breakfast and lunch.

What is the Impact of Sugar and Processed Food on Hair Health?

Our bodies produce insulin to manage sugar intake, the lack of which prevents bodies from managing sugar consumption. The most obvious consequence for bodies that develop insulin resistance is diabetes.

Research on men has traced a correlation between baldness and high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and obesity, pointing to poor diet as a hair loss trigger. The research suggests that heavy sugar consumption is a primary factor in developing insulin resistance. Similar research on women has also found that women with high insulin resistance run a greater risk for androgenic alopecia hair loss.

What are the Top Foods for Healthy Hair?

• Salmon for Shine. Fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Your body can’t make these healthy fats, so you must get them from food or supplements. They help protect you from disease, but your body needs them to grow hair and keep it shiny and full.
• Grow With Greek Yogurt. It’s packed with protein, the building block of your locks. Greek yoghurt also has an ingredient that helps with blood flow to your scalp and hair growth. It’s called vitamin B5 and may even help against hair thinning and loss. 
• Spinach to Battle Brittle Hair. Like so many dark green leafy vegetables, spinach contains impressive nutrients. It has tons of vitamin A, iron, beta carotene, folate, and vitamin C. These work together for a healthy scalp and mane. They keep your hair moisturized, so it doesn’t break. 
• Guava to Prevent Breakage. This tropical fruit brim with vitamin C. It protects your hair from breaking. One cup of guava has 377 milligrams of vitamin C. 
• Iron-Fortified Cereal to Prevent Loss. Getting too little iron can lead to hair loss. But this essential nutrient can be found in fortified cereal, grains, pasta, soybeans and lentils. Beef, especially organ meats like liver, has lots of it. Shellfish and dark leafy greens do too.
• Lean Poultry for Thickness. When you don’t get enough protein, hair growth rests. Since it stops and older hairs fall out, you can have hair loss. To get protein from meat, pick lean options like chicken or turkey, which have less saturated fat than sources like beef and pork.
• Eggs for Growth. Your protein and iron bases are covered when you eat eggs. They’re rich in a B vitamin called biotin that helps hair grow. Not having enough of this vitamin can lead to hair loss. Biotin also helps strengthen brittle fingernails.