In any individual, the hair cells are one of the fastest growing cells in the entire body next to your intestinal cells. An individual has roughly 120,000 hairs located on their scalp which all require consistent nourishment in order to grow. However, since hair is not a vital organ or tissue, the body will not prioritise its nutritional needs towards hair follicles which is where diet and the nutrients you consume play a large role in the health of your hair.
Aside from receiving a free initial consultation for hair loss expertise or any other area of health from a registered physician at YourMD.ca, another alternative method look after your hair is to improve the quality of your diet. A healthy diet has the potential to keep your hair strong and full of shine, while an unhealthy diet can do the opposite and create weaker strands of hair with less shine. Ultimately, if you are not getting the proper nutrients from specific food items, you may see the impacts on the overall health of your hair, which eventually could lead to hair loss.
If you wish to adjust your diet to receive the best nutrients to help with your hair health, it is not a difficult task. In this article we will be listing and educating readers on the best things to consume in order to keep hair looking healthy and increase its overall strength. Below we are going to list several items that you can find at your local grocery store which can help increase your nutrient intake to provide more shine, strength, and growth to your hair.
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1. Salmon
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Fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel are filled with omega 3-fatty acids which provide essential proteins to hair follicles which promote colour and shine. Salmon also prevents hair follicle inflammation and promotes blood circulation to the scalp which are factors that can directly contribute to hair loss. Your body cannot create these health omega 3-fatty acids, so it is important to ensure your diet consists of foods that provide you this nutrient.
2. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are filled with an antioxidant called beta carotene, which your body converts into Vitamin A. Vitamin A necessary for cell renewal and growth, and a lack of the vitamin in your body can lead to a dry, unhealthy scalp with excessive dandruff. It also encourages your sweat gland to make an oily fluid called sebum which helps keep hair moisturized and healthy.
3. Spinach
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Like many dark green vegetables, spinach is rich with nutrients such as vitamin; K, A, C, B2, B6, B1, E, and also contains manganese, zinc, and iron. All of these nutrients together help nourish scalp and ensure stronger hair and help increase the overall supply of oxygen to your hair which helps the hair follicles stay healthy and full of life.
4. Lean poultry
Though many people do not get enough, consuming a proper amount of protein is critical for keeping your hair healthy. When the body does not get enough, hair growth goes into its rest phase which results in older hairs falling out. To keep hair filled with high levels of protein nutrients, pick meat with high lean options such as chicken or turkey, which have much less saturated fats when comparing to beef and pork.
5. Oysters
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Due to the extremely high zinc content, one of the best things you can eat for your hair are oysters. Hair building cells in the body rely heavily on zinc, so when your diet has high zinc content it helps the body produce hormones that encourage hair growth. When you do not have enough of this mineral in your diet, you can experience hair loss as these cells are not working as strongly as they could be. Other sea foods such as crab and lobster contain high levels of zinc like oysters do.
Now that we know what foods to put in your shopping cart to help keep your hair healthy, it would be smart to know what foods have negative impacts on the overall health of your hair.
1. Fast Food
This is an obvious one, but the people in the back need to hear this. Anything you consume that isn’t great for your overall health, will not be good for specific parts of your body as well. That being said, that burger and fry combo that we all know tastes so good translates into a greasy scalp. A greasy scalp clogs your pores up and eventually leads to hair loss. Think about clogged pores on your face, you wouldn’t want that happening to your head, now would you?
2. Diet Soda
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Yes, unfortunately diet soda. Though drinking diet pop may be great for your weight, drinking too much of these beverages can have negative effects on the health of your hair. This is because when you consume diet drinks, you are substituting out real sugar for artificial sweeteners. The artificial sweetener that does the most damage is named Aspartame, which can cause hair loss and thinning if consumed too much of. So even though it may look like you are choosing the better option with that can of diet soda, both options can have impacts on your health.
3. Liquor
Like it was previously stated with fast food, anything that has no nutritional benefit for you will not do anything positive for your hair, and it is certain that alcohol has no nutritional benefit. When you consume alcohol, it slows the overall zinc levels in your body, which, as previously stated, are very important in creating healthier hair. Additionally, alcohol in general dehydrates the body, but it also dehydrates your hair, which results in more brittle hair follicles which are likely to break, leading to loss of hair.
In Conclusion
It is important to ensure that you are consuming the proper nutrients needed to support every function of your body. Like you learned throughout reading this article, a healthy diet goes a long way and can positively impact every area of your body. Knowing the right kinds of food to eat is important, but knowing the kinds of foods not to eat, is even more important. Knowing the wrong foods to eat can help avoid hair loss, breakage, or dryness in your life. It is important to remember that even your hair is a part of your health. This is why at YourMd.ca, we make it our top priority to provide you with the proper expertise from registered medical doctors so you can keep your hair, and your body as a whole, as healthy as possible.
