On average there are 120,000 hair strands on our head, and like the rest of the body, they need to be fed. The saying “You are what you eat” also applies to your hair. Whatever you consume or lack in your diet reflects on your locks also.
That makes hair analysis one of the most accurate tests to tell the body’s chemical composition. So your stylist may not be responsible for your frizzy hair, neither does your genes have much to do with the breaking nor loss that you suffer up there. You might be the chief culprit, or rather your diet.
How & why
You can eat your way to better hair.
Nutritional consultant Ken Peters says if you are not eating well, your hair will be one of the first things to suffer. This is because the body directs nutrients from food to other more important organs first, and then left-overs go to the hair. If any nutrient is low in your diet the hair misses out on that nutrient. Kind of like mom, huh?! The last to be served dinner…I hope!
So, can you fix most hair problems with diet? Yes, but that does not mean you can turn your bad hair day around by night fall with a super nutritious lunch. I wish it were so!
Dietary changes affect hair after about three months of maintaining those changes. That wonderful dinner you had on a date last month will not show up in beautiful hair today. But your hair condition by Christmas may very well be a result of your diet from the summer’s internship in Belize.
Also, there is virtually nothing diet can do for chemically damaged hair. A good diet may provide some support in the healing process. As far as nutrition for your hair goes, it is difficult to know how much deprivation your hair suffers in the short run. Since benefits are realized in the long run, it is wise to make sure you are getting lots of vital nutrients in your diet for the hair to get enough. Supplementing is one way to ensure you get adequate nutrients for your mane.
Which nutrients?
The number one nutrient for healthy hair is Essential Fatty Acids. The omega 3s and 6s. They help keep hair shiny and thick while preventing hair loss. Add more ocean fish into your diet to get EFAs: salmon, sardines, anchovy, and mackerel. Eating a lot of fish can be tricky these days because of the concern of mercury in the fish. Try seeds and nuts, like flaxseed and walnut, or supplement them.
Deep ocean fish like salmon, cod, and mackerel are rich in essential fatty acids.
Supplementing EFAs is a good idea, since you may not get enough in your diet. Flaxseed oil combined black currant and borage oils in Super GLA oil, fish oil, and Evening Primrose Oil supplements are all excellent options. Other good fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil, cod liver oil, and avocado oil also help keep hair shiny and thick.
Silica is another important nutrient for healthy hair. A trace mineral, silica strengthens hair thereby preventing breakage. Whole organic grains such as brown rice and oats are good food sources. If you choose to supplement silica, take a look at Horsetail, an herb extremely rich in silica. Dulse fronds, rosemary leaves, and sage leaves contained in an herbal blend HSN-W is another excellent source of bioavailable silica that strengthens hair and nails, as well as enhances skin tone.
Vitamin C, the B vitamins, Calcium, Magnesium, and Zinc are other nutrients essential to good hair. That leaves us with one question: How much is enough? Hard to say: amount needed varies from person to person.