Boost Hair Health and Prevent Hair Loss with These Essential Supplements

Eggs

Eggs top the list of hair-friendly foods because they are rich in protein and biotin, as well as other nutrients like zinc and selenium. Hair follicles are made mostly of protein, and not getting enough protein in your diet can cause hair loss. Biotin is an essential nutrient for producing a special type of protein called keratin. If you’re deficient in biotin, consuming more can help improve hair growth. Many hair supplements designed to improve hair quality contain biotin for this reason.

Berries

Berries are a great addition to any diet, as they contain compounds and vitamins that help promote hair growth. One of the biggest benefits of vitamin C is its strong antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help protect hair follicles from damage by free radicals, which naturally exist in the body and are related to aging. Our bodies also use vitamin C to produce collagen, a protein necessary to prevent hair from becoming brittle and breaking. And finally, vitamin C helps the body absorb iron and prevent anemia, which is also related to hair loss.

Spinach

Spinach is an excellent source of nutrients like folate, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Each of these plays a role in the development of healthy hair. Vitamin A in particular helps the sebaceous glands produce sebum, an oily substance that moisturizes the scalp and helps keep hair healthy. Iron is essential for helping red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body to support growth. A bowl of spinach gives you 54% of your daily vitamin A requirements, plus 4% RDA for iron for women and 10% RDA for men.

Avocado

Avocado like salmon, trout, and tuna promote hair growth because of their omega-3 fatty acid content. A study of 120 women who supplemented with fish oil along with antioxidants found that their hair, on average, was thicker and less brittle. Another study concluded that supplemental fish oil can significantly reduce hair loss in women with thinning hair. If you don’t like eating fish, supplementing with fish oil is a great alternative. Additionally, fish also contains other hair-benefiting nutrients like protein, selenium, vitamin D3, and vitamin B.

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes increase the beta-carotene content in our bodies. This compound is converted by the body into vitamin A, which helps in the production of sebum. Sebum is very important for scalp health and by extension, for moisturizing the hair. Vitamin A can also increase the rate of hair growth and encourage thicker strands, as well as prevent other hair follicles from degenerating. You can get over 4 times the RDA of beta carotene in one sweet potato

Avocado

Avocado contains healthy fats along with a large amount of vitamin E. Like vitamin C, vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant in neutralizing harmful free radicals and promoting hair growth. Vitamin E also plays an important role in protecting the scalp from oxidative stress and damage, as dry scalp often leads to less hair follicle activity.

Oysters

Oysters are great for hair growth due to their zinc content, but zinc can also be found in high amounts in foods like red meat, beans (lentils and chickpeas), dairy, eggs, whole grains, and nuts. Zinc is a mineral that supports your hair’s growth cycle and repair. Zinc deficiency is associated with a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium, fortunately, this can be reversed by supplementing zinc in your diet.

Shrimp

Shrimp is a great food for healthy hair because it contains protein, vitamin B, zinc, iron, and vitamin D, all of which can strongly promote lock growth. Shrimp also contains a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids, although fat is usually very low.

Beans

Aside from good protein content, beans also provide iron, biotin, zinc, and folate, all of which are necessary for the development of healthy hair.