Foods for a Healthy Head of Hair

Did you know that hair is a huge indicator of the general condition of your overall health? And your blow dryer, straightening iron, and myriad of hair products aren’t the only things damaging it. Poor diet and nutritional deficiency can cause overly dry, dull, frayed and damaged hair.

By targeting specific deficiencies by incorporating balanced, healthy eating habits can improve the overall appearance, texture and condition of your hair quicker than imagined. Here are six specific foods proven to help give life back to your precious locks:

Chickpeas

These tiny little guys go great in a salad or grinded up as hummus. High in folate and zinc, chickpeas are chock-full of iron-fortified, non-animal protein, which is essential for hair growth. An added bonus? They’re full of keratins, which coat the hair and help protect it from breakage.

Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken, that is. The high protein dish serves up a whole lot of the B Vitamins folate, B6 and B12, which are crucial for maintaining healthy hair. These vitamins produce the right amount of red blood cells to transport oxygen and other nutrients throughout the body, and without their proper delivery, your scalp and hair follicles are left weak and starved.

Beans

Full of folate and iron, legumes like lentils and kidney beans provide the necessary nutrients in producing and maintaining a healthy head of hair. Hair loss is commonly associated with iron-deficiency anemia, so a diet high in this iron-rich food will prevent loss with strengthening your tresses.

Strawberries

Bursting with Vitamin C, which helps keep collagen healthy, strawberries are essential in maintaining your hair’s structure, preventing split ends, and strengthening strands. Even better? All it takes is 8 strawberries a day to meet your recommended daily allowance for Vitamin C.

Peanuts

Peanuts are the number one choice for a biotin rich food, which is important for hair growth and a healthy scalp. Our bodies actually produce the B Vitamin naturally, so biotin deficiencies are unlikely, but it can’t hurt to load up on biotin rich foods to boost your overall hair health.

Kale

The iron-rich food is also very high in Beta carotene, which is converted in the body into Vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for cell growth and replenishment, including the cells in your scalp. Deficiencies result in dull, limp hair and a dry, itchy scalp. Additionally, Vitamin A is responsible for the production of sebum, an oily substance that is produced by hair follicles, essentially nature’s own conditioner.

Even if you are not the most fashion oriented, it is easy to keep a watchful eye on your head of hair as it can be an indicator of your body’s overall health. Unbeknownst to many, an unhealthy diet may actually be the cause of your dry and frayed hair. If you suffer from such hair, you may want to target these foods to help you with your condition. These foods will not only help improve the appearance of your hair, but will also help you improve your overall health.

Chickpeas: A versatile food, chickpeas or garbanzo beans as they are also called can be incorporated into a number of dishes including salad. Furthermore, they are a chief ingredient in hummus. As delicious as they are, they are also chock full of non-animal and iron-rich protein.This protein is absolutely essential for healthy hair growth. Furthermore, garbanzo beans contain a lot of keratins, a special hardened protein that is important in the process of coating the outside layer of hair.

Chicken: Chicken with its high levels of B12 and B6 is great to spur healthy hair. A dearth of such vitamins will likely lead to weak and dry hair. However, be mindful that not all chicken is equal. Fried or bread chicken will likely do more harm than good.

Strawberries: While many associate Vitamin C with oranges, strawberries are another great source of this vitamin. The presence of Vitamin C is vital in the creation and maintenance of healthy collagen. This is what helps give hair its structure. Less than ten strawberries will suffice to meet the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C.

Kale: Many Americans had not even heard of a Kale just a decade ago. But this vegetable has quickly been adopted into the diets of millions of men and women across the nation, and for good reason. Kale contains very high levels of Beta carotene and Iron. The former is actually converted into Vitamin A, which is important for the health of one’s scalp.