The Right Diet to Fight Hair Loss

Your hair is a reflection of your inner state of health. Beautiful, shiny and strong strands are signs of a healthy, thriving body, which can only exist with a well-balanced diet, proper hygiene and regular exercise regimen.

Brittle, dull, and thinning hair may be a sign of poor health due to a lack of nutrients or other factors such as stress, exposure to toxins, medications and diseases.

Hair growth and hair thinning is mostly determined by your genes and the way the hair follicles respond to hormones. A very poor diet can cause thinning of hair and speed up the onset of hereditary hair loss or alopecia.

That is why getting the right nutrients from the proper kind of foods are important to help keep your hair healthy and shiny.

A healthy diet ensures the intake of essential vitamins and minerals that contribute to your health and a healthy head of hair. Regular exercise and stress management are also essential to good health and are important for the prevention and treatment of temporary hair loss. There is no way you can have healthy hair without a healthy diet.

A range of minerals, including trace minerals, can help promote hair growth and protect against hair breakage. Among them are silica, calcium, iron, copper, and zinc. These minerals are found in a broad range of unprocessed foods, including meats, seafood, nuts, seeds, liver, eggs, rice, oats, whole-grain cereals, sunflower seeds, lettuce, onion, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, bean sprouts, leafy green vegetables, strawberries, dates, and raisins.

A diet rich in all vitamins and minerals will support healthy hair growth, but there are some compounds which are particularly essential to help prevent hair loss. Biotin is one of the most important vitamins for preventing thinning hair. It is needed for cell growth and is a specific nutrient for hair and skin. Good sources of biotin include brown rice, soy, lentils, and egg yolks.

Ayurveda medicine also favors food that increases Kapha Dosha, like good quality of ghee, coconut, green leafy vegetables. One can include certain vegetables like brinjals, lady fingers, fruit juices and salads.

While eating a nutrient-rich diet will encourage new growth and improve the state of your hair, it is also important to avoid or minimize substances that will slow digestion, inhibit nutrient absorption, and put extra work on the liver. Sugar, white flour products, salt, refined and processed foods should be consumed in small quantities to help prevent alopecia. Fatty foods, animal proteins, excessive raw foods, and citrus foods are to be restricted in excess. Tomatoes, tofu, millet, salt and dairy products are to be limited.

Having healthy hair isn’t much different to having a healthy body. They are all part of your general well-being. All of your body systems need good nutrition in order to function correctly. If you don’t eat to keep yourself well and healthy, your hair will begin to show it by thinning and falling out. In order to stop hair loss, it is necessary that you have a diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals.