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Hair & Nutrition

Hair that is of even thickness from the root to the end, grows on a healthy scalp & is shiny, lustrous & healthy. Only healthy hair is considered to be beautiful.

There are some basic requirements to have healthy hair:

1. A nutritious, balanced diet with appropriate amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals, fats, & carbohydrates.
2. High intake of salads & fruits for main fibres.
3. Drinking plenty of water to flush toxic agents out of the body.
4. Regular exercise to elevate blood circulation that maintains proper supply of nutrients & oxygen to the hair follicles.

Vital Nutritional Aids

Protein

Deficiency of protein reason loss of hair color.

Vitamin A

An ample amount of Vitamin A is present in fish, liver, green vegetables, spinach, green chilly, radish, mango, apple, pineapple, pumpkin, carrot & whole milk.

Enough Vitamin A gives us healthy & lustrous hair; whereas deficiency of it makes hair dull & dry. Too much or excessive Vitamin A is harmful as it reason severe hair loss resulting in small bald patches; therefore, maintaining a proper nutritional balance of diet is important.

Vitamins B & Vitamin C

Cereals, pulses, yeast, milk & citrus fruits like orange, lemon, raspberry & guava are rich sources of these vitamins.

They make hair soft, manageable & thick.

Copper

Foods rich in copper are raisins, nuts & liver. For adequate intake of copper, food can be cooked in copper utensils.

Deficiency of this mineral reason greying (de-pigmentation) of hair.

Iron

Good suppliers of iron are banana, watermelon, guava, kidney beans, spinach, grains, beans, cabbage, turnip, & radish. For sufficient intake of iron, vegetables can be cooked in iron utensils. Deficiency of this mineral makes hair split & break easily. It elevates hair fall too.

Zinc

Oysters, grains, & wheat products are good sources of zinc.

Deficiency of this mineral can cause roughening of hair & continuous hair loss. Pregnant ladies require additional zinc. However, if you eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh ingredients, you need not take any supplementary vitamins to promote healthy hair.

Crash Diet

A crash diet deprives the body of all nutrients necessary for healthy hair. It slows down the growth rate & also invites severe hair fall. Other hair problems may also occur, ranging from dull & scruffy-looking hair to limp & lusterless hair.

Any food regime that severely alters the nutritional balance & deprives the body of protein will affect hair.

To encourage healthy hair growth, avoid the following:

• Beverages like tea, coffee & alcohol, as they hold back the nutrients & deprive the body of water.
• Smoking & chewing tobacco.

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