As it is rightly said by Martin Luther, “The hair is the richest ornament of women.” Shimmering lustrous long hair is a sign of a healthy person. It shows off to the world about our wellbeing and vitality. Unhealthy hair is one of the first few signs of Mental and/or Bodily unwell being. As our body require proper nutrition for its growth and maintenance, so does our Hair. So let us have an overview regarding what are the various nutrients required and their role in keeping our Hair healthy.

Proteins:

Rightly called the building blocks of our body, Proteins constitute up 98% of our hair. This makes proteins one of the most important nutrients for healthy hair. It promotes healthy hair development cycles. There are many sources of proteins. Of the protein sources however, the low fat sources like fish, poultry and pulses such as soy, ragi etc are preferred. This is because high fat diet is associated with hair loss. Also taking protein in excess is unhealthy for hair as it offsets the acid base balance of the body resulting ultimately to hair loss. It causes deficiency of minerals like calcium further worsening the hair loss. Individuals who are dieting or are on a vegan diet should keep a tab on their protein intake and replenish themselves appropriately.

Vitamins:

Vitamins are a group of most important micronutrients. They have to be replenished in our body by dietary means only. One should make sure that he is not deficient on vitamins, as it is very common in the present life style of constant stress and pressures, whereby one cannot concentrate on good and healthy eating habits. Deficiency if present will cause general lowering of health and hair fall. Lets look at some of the most important vitamins that promote hair growth.

Vitamin A:

It is an essential nutrient for healthy hair. Hair Loss is one of the signs to gauge Vitamin A deficiency. Good Sources of Vitamin A are Yellow and orange coloured fruits and dark green leafy vegetables like broccoli and Kale. Other sources include liver, egg yolk, milk and butter. Oral Vitamin A supplemants are also a source for replenishing vitamin A but one should be cautious while taking them as it may cause an excess of Vitamin A resulting in Vitamin A hypervitaminosis.

Vitamin B:

Vitamin B are a group of vitamins that are very important for healthy hair. Vitamin B deficiency is a reasons for Baldness. Of the various vitamins, Biotin is one of the very important ones. Its deficiency leads to eczematous changes and hair fall. Yeast is one of the richest sources of Biotin. Vitamins B3 and B5 are important for hair growth. B6 is also very important as it helps in processing of the various nutrients required for good and healthy hair growth.

Antioxidants:

These are the nutrients consisting of vitamins C, E and beta carotene. They can be supplemented via a pill or diet.

Vitamin E:

Vitamin E is another important nutrient for healthy hair. It has few vegetarian sources like green leafy vegetables including spinach, mustard green, parsley etc; whole grains, nuts like sunflower seeds and almonds. Extra virgin olive oil, avocados etc.

Vitamin C:

The main sources of vitamin C comprises of all types of citrus fruits and few vegeables like tomato. Tomato also has Lycopene which also enhances the skin and protects it form UV rays.

Essential Fatty Acids:

One of the most important essential fatty acids as far as healthy hair growth is concerned is Omega 3 fatty acids. They are mainly present in sea foods like salmon, tuna and halibut. Vegetarian sources for omega 3 fatty acids are nuts like Flax Seeds, and walnut.

Minerals:

There are certain mierals that are imporatant to us in the form of Micro as well as Macro Nutrients. Example being Zinc, Silica, Selenium, Sulphur, Manganese. These are very important for improving the hair strength. These minerals are found in food sources like egg, chicken, egg, meat, cheese, milk, pumpkin seeds etc.

Iron:

Iron is a very important mineral for augmenting the hair health. Its deficiency leads to hair loss. Deficiency of iron leads to lower Haemoglobin levels thereby leading to sluggish blood circulation and lower oxygen supply to the scalp. This in turn leads to diminished nutrients that are supplied to the hair follicles, leading to hair fall.

Iodine:

Iodine is a micro nutrient mineral and is responsible for imparting strength to the hair. It is seen that people suffering from Hypothyroidism, which is caused due to lower levels of iodine in our body, have a very high incidence of hair loss. The sources for iodine are Sea food like salmon, Potatoes, molasses, Lima beans, eggs, watercress, garlic and seaweed. Also now a days common salt is fortified with iodine to deal with iodine deficiency in our daily diet.

The present scenario where the life style has become stressful with our busy schedules and work pressures, the incidence of hair loss is on a high. Majority of these can be treated simply by incorporating a healthy dietary regimen whereby we include all the nutrients in our regular meals in a balanced manner. With this article we have tried to highlight the importance of diet as a preventive and therapeutic tool that can be employed for adorning our heads with beautiful and healthy looking hair.

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