food for healthy hair

biba · Joined: 21 Feb 2006 Posts: 159

I read somewhere food is important for healthy hair' so, what kind of food should I eat to have better looking hair?

Petra · Joined: 16 Jan 2006 Posts: 313

You are right- your hair needs vitamins and minerals
For start open your refrigerator- there is always possibility your nutrition is not healthy enough. With proper nutrition you can prevent loosing hair and achieve faster hair growth.
Your hair is consisted of proteins- keratin. In group of amino acids cystine plays the most important role. Maybe you didn’t know, but your hair is also consisted of sulfur. And now combine this information with the fact that healthy hair also needs minerals like copper, zinc, iron and silicon. Are you sure you eat proper?
Did you know that insufficiency of minerals, for expel iron and zinc causes hair loss?
Without copper hair becomes fragile, it breaks and ends split. Hair also needs B vitamins, pantothenic acid, vitamin H and biotin. They all have crucial role in creating hair. Vitamin A is important for hair growth and vitamin C for circulation around hair roots.
1. Biotin
Biotin is found in fish, dairy products, grains and eggs. Biotin protects hair root, prevents hair loss and delays hair graying. If you eat for breakfast barley, oat, wheat, buckwheat and whole grain bread, your daily need for biotin is more or less satisfied.
2. Vitamin A
Great source of vitamin A are green and yellow vegetables. If lacking vitamin A, your organism cannot regular synthesize protein structures, consequently hair is too soft and breakable. Vitamin A is important for hair growth and development, but be careful, overdosing with could cause eventual hair loss.
3. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is found in cabbage, paprika, lemon, lettuce, oranges and parsley. This vitamin is crucial for it enables circulation around hair roots, so the substance, important for hair growth reaches hair easier.
4. Amino acids- cystine and methionine
The newest research prove vitamins, minerals and amino acids, more specifically cystine and methionine are crucial when dealing with baldness. They improve hair growth, texture and quality of hair plus they strengthen hair roots. Cystine is important for synthesis of keratin- protein, which is found in skin, hair and nails. It has crucial role in metabolizing energy and synthesis of fatty acids.
Methionine is important for healthy hair, nails and ski, synthesis of taurine, lecithin and endorphin.
To consume lots of amino acids, especially cystine and methionine, eat soy, which is rich in proteins, since they prevent creation of dyhidrotestosterone, hormone responsible for baldness.
5. Sulfur
100 g hair contains 5 g sulphur. Eat lots of onions, garlic.

I hope this helps.