Everything in our bodies is connected.
In fact, once your internal health begins to suffer, you’ll often notice exterior symptoms. When lacking key nutrients, for instance, your hair will often become thin, causing it to fall out. If you can relate, you may need to consider your diet.
The Connection Between Key Nutrients and Hair Health
What you put into your body plays a significant role in terms of your hair health — so ask yourself, are you nutrient-deficient? Could your diet be causing the thinning of your hair?
To maintain healthy hair, you require both macro and micro nutrients. The most obvious connection is based on the building blocks provided by protein, which build, strengthen and repair everything from your hair to your muscles.
Although hair is made out of protein, other basic nutrients are also required in order to maintain positive health, supporting the natural hair growth cycle.
Are You Suffering from These Deficiencies?
Although hormonal shifts, stress and medications can cause your hair to fall out, if you’re noticing that your hair is not as vibrant as it once was or is unusually thin, you may want to consider the following potential deficiencies.
Protein — As discussed above, protein is essential in order to maintain the normal rate of healthy hair growth. If you’re deficient, you may notice that when you shed hair, it’s not growing back as quickly, resulting in a thinning scalp. Although you can consume protein from meat and alternatives, including eggs, it’s imperative that both vegetarians and vegans regularly eat sources such as lentils, whole grains and vegetables, including kale, peas and mushrooms.
Iron — With over 30 percent of the world’s population considered to be anemic, anemia is one of the most common nutritional deficiency. When you lack iron in the blood, it cannot produce hemoglobin. In turn, your hair follicles will lack the nutrients and level of oxygen they require to stimulate hair growth, based on impaired transportation. Some of the best foods to consume include seafood, grass-fed red meat, beans and spinach.
Zinc — You may have heard of people taking zinc supplements for hair loss. Well, that’s because a zinc deficiency can weaken the follicles, resulting in shedding and hair loss. This mineral is also important to balance your hormones, so consume more pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, seafood, tahini and pork.
From fatty acids to niacin, it’s essential that you consume a diet that’s rich in a wide variety of fresh, whole foods. If suffering from hair loss, dietary supplements are often a great place to start, as you make subtle, daily changes to your dietary routine.
At Custom Hair Tampa Bay, we offer customizable hair replacement solutions that are suited for each individual’s wants and needs and our hair loss replacement solutions studio is specifically designed to satisfy the distinctive challenges of hair loss no matter what caused it. To schedule a free consultation at one of our three locations click here.
Photo Credit: coyot Via Pixabay
Sources:
http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/ida/en/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5315033/
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-eat-healthy-hair