Top Best Foods that Promote Hair Growth, Thickness & Strength

In the market today, there are a number of products that claim to help your hair grow. Safety of most these products is always questionable. Going natural is something you should consider. Herein find best food your hair growth, thickness and strength including the role of the nutrients within these foods.

Why consider Foods to Promote Healthy Growth?

The way your hair behaves is directly proportional to your current or long-term health status including your mental and physical well-being, dieting, sleep patterns, hormonal changes such as in menstrual cycle, medication you are on and any form of malnutrition.

One of the biggest contributors of healthy hair you can never over-estimate is your food and nutrition leave alone the supplements you might go for.

If there were not synthetic medication, the conventional ones we have, you would be making a gush towards plants. Over 50,000 plants have been studied for their medicinal value and this is where food comes from.

To keep your hair growing and growing healthy, it needs some form of energy to do so. For the follicle to sprout long, thick and full of melanin it sure should have rich soil beneath it; a rich dermal papillae. This refers to proper ramification by blood vessels facing no form of constriction and nutritional supply from circulation. How does this nutritional supply end up in the blood stream? From the food you take and absorption mechanisms through the intestinal wall.

Fact. You have about 120, 000 hairs growing on your scalp, you shed about 50 hair strands every day, replace that fairly every day, and this whole system forms the fastest growing cells in your body.

Sure if you do not diet well, you will literally see malnutrition in the characteristics of your hair. This is the summary of why you should have food as your nutritional source:

• Provide an all-natural nutritional source
• Provides an alternative to chemicals in hair products and conditioners
• Provide a highly acceptable source to your body without your body reacting to it unless you got some form of intolerance.
• Foods mostly contain a blend of nutrients ranging from biomolecules such as vitamins to minerals and micronutrients such as selenium.
• You have food most times a day without dosage and this forms a normal part of your life unlike medication
• Foods allow you to kill two birds with one stone; satiety and your boy’s nutritional requirement.

How does food help your to grow thick and strong hair?

In order for your hair to grow stronger, thicker and in the right color, and again to make them stay hydrated, there are a number of nutrients that you should not miss in your diet. How food ends up being a vital ally to your hair all accrues to the nutrients it contains.

They have been studied and their role in hair growth identified. Here are some of those that should be included in your daily diet.

Vitamins

Biotin

This is also known as vitamin B7 or rarely vitamin H. When consumed, this vitamin helps the hair grow thicker, fuller and healthier.

It has been shown to synthesize keratin growth factor. This is a hormone that your body utilizes to make keratin. Keratin in turn composes the fibrous part of your hair. Have enough beans, beef and eggs in your diet to make up about 300 mcg which is the RDA for prevention of hair loss in women.

Vitamin B12 is known as the most potent of all vitamins in the prevention of hair loss and again in the maintenance of healthy hair. This vitamin is also responsible for the synthesis of keratin. Keratin cells act as amplifying cells and hence necessary for the proliferation of follicles.

Most importantly, vitamin B12 helps prevent pernicious anemia. Anemia may lead to low levels of oxygen delivered to the dermal papillae cells and this prolongs the anagen phase of hair growth. It also helps repigment the hair.

Vitamin B9, folic acid is necessary for DNA synthesis. You need to have replication of DNA during the cells cycle to make hair grow faster and stronger.

It leads to a longer anagen phase that makes the hair longer and of a higher density as proposed by Hardy, M.H. (1992) €.

It ensures proper functioning of the sebaceous glands and aids in the management of telogen effluvium and androgenic alopecia and in controlling hair loss in women in menopause (Cash, T.F., 1999) ¥.

Vitamin A, C and E acts as an important anti-oxidant and works well with other vitamins. They help eliminate toxic radicals that may damage the scalp. Care should be taken not to overdose vitamin A that may otherwise cause hair loss. Sources of vitamin A include Brazilian nuts, olive oil, salmon, hemp and walnuts.

Vitamin D ‘wakes up’ hair follicles and promote hair growth. This has been published in the journal ‘Stem Cells Transitional Medicine’. It also allows optimum absorption of calcium which is also necessary for hair growth.

Amino acids are important for the structural formation of hair. More specifically, the amino acid lysine is essential for the formation of keratin which makes up the hair follicles.

Amino acids are also necessary for the healing and repair of worn out tissues say from oxidative stress, inflammation or infection. Have lots of legumes, meat, soy and fish in your diet to get the right amount of amino acids for your body.

Zinc is involved in the synthesis of protein and nucleic acids and plays a role as a cofactor of some metalloenzyme. Hair loss in acrodermatitis enteropathica has been linked to zinc deficiency and so is a dysfunction in the normal cycle of hair growth[1].

Zinc is an important regulator of a variety of different growth hormones which your body uses synthesize hair growth. Make sure that you integrate seafood, nuts, legumes, green leafy vegetables and chicken into your meal.

Iron is a vital nutrient for the synthesis of red blood cells which are necessary for the transportation of oxygen to the dermal papillae cells.

Anemia, arising from below threshold red blood cells leads to loss of hair, thinning and lightening of your hair follicles. It is also believed to be involved in the conversion of testosterone to estrogen which reduces the risk of androgenic alopecia and stimulate hair growth.

Including omega 3 and 6 fatty acids allows the proper synthesis of sebum. The two are also involved in making the coat of hair follicles hydrate.

What are Top foods that Promote Hair Growth in Women, Men & Children

Among the foods that your choose and add to your diet, include:

Fruits & Green Vegetables

1. Avocado – this food supplements collagen and elastin of the skin.
2. Walnuts and almonds – these dry fruits are rich in omega 3, biotin and vitamin E.
3. Dark green leafy vegetables – spinach and broccoli are rich in folic acid, vitamin C, zinc and vitamin A.

Other Foods, Cereals, Animal Proteins and more

1. Whole grain cereal – this includes having brown rice, oat, buckwheat
2. Sweet potatoes – these foods are antioxidants and contain beta carotene. The food contain beta carotene which is normally converted to vitamin A in the body.
3. Eggs – these seemingly simple food is packed with zinc, selenium, sulfur and iron.
4. Carrots – they also contain beta-carotene. This is an antioxidant too.
5. Beans and lentils – consuming lentils which contains protein, iron, biotin and zinc are good for vegans and natural health hair.
6. Fish – salmon specially contain omega 3 fatty acids, oysters are rich too with zinc. These amino acids promote thick and healthy hair.

Tips and Ideas when selecting best Foods for Healthy Hair Growth

1. Make sure that you watch out for the required daily amounts of each nutrient to ensure that you are having the nutrient in the correct amounts.
2. To gain maximally from fruits that contain vitamins, take the fruits on an empty stomach so that you facilitate absorption through the system wall.
3. Research widely so that you have the necessary information on how to acquire nutrients from fruits.
4. Seek further clarification from a qualified health care professional without taking unjustified risks.
5. It takes time for nutrients to take action and elicit positive changes in the properties of your hair but this could be about weeks to months depending on your state of hair loss.

REFERENCES

Anne-Randall, Valerie. “Androgens for Human Hair Growth” Clinical Endocrinology, 1994.

Schweikert, Hans, et. al. “Regulation of Human Hair Growth by Steroid Hormones. I. Testosterone Metabolism in Isolated Hairs” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology.

Beach, Renee, et. al. “Sebum Transforming Growth Factor Beta1 Induced by Hair Products” Archives of Dermatology.

Dobbs, Joannie, et. al. “Hair Loss For Women Has Many Contributing Factors” University of Hawaii.

Lowe, John, et. al. “Zinc Source Influences Zinc Retention In Hair and Hair Growth In Dog” Journal of Nutrition.

Walvarens, Philip, et. al. “Growth of Infants Fed A Zinc Supplemented Formula” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[1] Zinc as an ambivalent but potent modulator of murine hair growth in vivo- preliminary observations.

Plonka PM, Handjiski B, Popik M, Michalczyk D, Paus R; Exp Dermatol. 2005 Nov; 14(11):844-53.

€ Hardy, M.H. (1992) The secret life of the hair follicle. Trends Genet. 8, 55–61

¥ 6 Cash, T.F. (1999) The psychosocial consequences of androgenetic alopecia: a review of the research literature. Br. J. Dermatol. 141, 398–405