Nutrients for Healthy Hair Growth

Your hair thrives best in a healthy well nourished body. With such busy schedules, many people do not get all of the nutrients needed for healthy hair growth through their diet alone. This is why natural products for hair growth and hair loss have become so popular. There are specific vitamins and nutrients that can have a profound effect on your hair's overall health. Individuals who want healthier, faster growing hair, or who suffer with hair problems, are advised to take use natural products because they are claimed to have no negative side effects.

Examples of these hair growth products are food supplements. These are actually nutrients that our body needs and examples are vitamin A, zinc, and folic acid. These are important in keeping your hair healthy because they help build and repair cells in the body especially hair cells. These food supplements have no scientific proof that they cure hair loss problems but you should know their importance because these are provided in your diet.

Provided in the article are some information of important nutrients for healthy hair and body.

Protein

This is an important nutrient because is the building blocks of all cells in the body especially hair cells. Inadequate protein in the diet may result to dry and brittle hair strands.

You can eat fish, meat, cheese, eggs and milk to have adequate amounts of protein in your body. Most people get more than enough protien in their diet alone and should not use supplements with protein or amino acids. Only strict vegetarians should supplement protein in their diet.

Vitamins

There are several vitamins needed by the body. These are vitamin A, C, E and all B vitamins like B6 and B12, Biotin, Folic Acid, etc. In addition to these, MSM, can be used to naturally lengthen the hair growth phase. Each of these vitamins will be briefly discussed:

Vitamin A is vital because it prevents the drying and clogging of sebaceous glands, which produces sebum. Sebum is important in lubricating the hair follicles. A deficiency in vitamin A makes your scalp become dry and thick causing dandruff that could eventually lead to hair loss.

Vitamin A can be supplied in the diet by eating foods like carrots, sweet potatoes and liver.

Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid are important in keeping the normal levels of hemoglobin in the blood. Hemoglobin is important because it supplies oxygen from the lungs to the different parts of the body. A deficiency in these vitamins can lead to a decrease in repairing cells of the body.

Foods rich in these particular B vitamins are liver, fish, chicken, meat, beans and vegetables like spinach.

Vitamin C is important in maintaining collagen in the body. Collagen is essential in keeping your body tissues connected and tightly packed. A deficiency in vitamin C results to hair breakages and split ends.

Good sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, peppers, broccoli and strawberries.

Vitamin E is responsible in keeping a healthy blood circulation and good supply of oxygen to different parts of the body. A deficiency in this vitamin results to ineffective absorption of fats from the diet.

Vitamin E can be supplied in the body by consuming green-leafy vegetables, nuts, grains and vegetable oils.

Biotin, another key ingredient, promotes cell growth, the production of fatty acids, metabolism of fats, and amino acids.

Minerals

These are important micronutrients that must be supplied in the body. Important minerals are heme iron, silica and zinc.

Heme iron. This type of iron is found in meat and cannot be found in vegetables because the latter has a different chemical structure and thus called non-heme iron. Heme is a complex red pigment that contains iron where oxygen binds. Heme iron is absorbed more efficiently compared with non-heme iron. Anemia is an example of a deficiency in heme iron.

Excellent sources of heme iron are clams, oysters and liver. Good sources are beef, shrimp and sardines.

Silica is a trace mineral needed by the body. A deficiency in silica can cause hair problems.

Foods rich in silica are oats, rice, green-leafy vegetables, and strawberry.

Zinc is vital in tissue growth and repair. It also stimulates secretion of oil in the scalp and hair follicles.

Zinc can be supplied by consuming nuts, legumes, oysters, shellfish, and whole grains.

MSM

MSM stands for Methylsulfonylmethane. MSM is a naturally occurring sulfur found in many foods. It naturally increases your hair growth phase. This allows your hair to reach grow longer than it otherwise would.

The hair growth phase (anagen phase) is one of three phases (growth, resting, and shedding) your hair goes through during its cycle. Every hair on your head must go through these three phases. However, since about 90% of your hair is in the growth phase at any given time, you should never experience excessive shedding. Your anagen, or growth phase, is genetically determined. This is why some people can grow hair down their backs, while others can only grow it to their shoulders.

For example, a person with a 2 year anagen can only grow any hair on their head a maximum of 12 inches before it enters the resting phase. (24 months x 0.5 inches per month.) The reason we say maximum is because this would mean that no breakage occurs and the hair is never cut. On the other hand, a person with a 4 year anagen can grow hair 24 inches (48 months x 0.5 inches per month) before it enters the resting phase.

Although MSM is found in many foods, conventional cooking methods have been shown to significantly decrease it effectiveness in this form.

All of these nutrients can be supplied in the diet so there would be no need to purchase food supplements. However, if your diet does not contain suffient amounts of these nutrients, you may benefit from using natural supplements to promote healthier hair.