Best Vitamins and Minerals For Hair
Your hair needs nutrients to grow and be healthy. Food is the best source for those vitamins and minerals that your hair needs daily.
Eating vitamin-rich food and getting an optimal intake of some minerals can help hair growth, strengthen and repair your hair. Enrich your diet with the best vitamins and minerals for hair and get shiny and healthy-looking hair. Down below, find out which nutrients work the best!
Vitamin A
Vitamin A supports hair growth and keeps the hair healthy. It helps the production of sebum in the skin, an oily substance that moisturizes the scalp, so if you have dry hair, then you may need to boost sebum production. There are a couple of ways to do that – use lukewarm water when you are taking a shower, eat foods high in vitamin A and increase your water intake.
Good sources of vitamin A are dairy products (cheese, milk, yogurt), eggs, oily fish, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, papayas, and apricots.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a natural antioxidant. Thanks to its antioxidant properties, vitamin E can reduce oxidative stress in the scalp. By doing that can prevent hair loss and premature graying, improving overall hair health. Vitamin E can also help hair to stay moisturized because it regulates oil production and, prevents the occurrence of dandruff. The good news is that vitamin E is easy to get through a variety of foods.
The best sources of vitamin E are: plant-based oils (sunflower oil, safflower, soybean oil, wheat germ oil), nuts (peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts), seeds (sunflower seeds), fruits (avocado, kiwi), and vegetables (spinach, broccoli).
B-complex Vitamins
This group of vitamins is essential for hair health and growth. B-complex vitamins help to maintain the normal function of hair cells. Vitamin B12 produces red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the scalp, essential for hair growth. Biotin (B7), also known as vitamin H, is a part of the B complex vitamins that helps keratin infrastructure. Keratin is a protein that helps hair regeneration, soothes the scalp, making your hair elastic and soft. Your hair can also benefit from vitamin B6 that may prevent the occurrence of dandruff, while vitamin B5 gives the hair flexibility and a shiny look.
Foods high in vitamin B: leafy greens, salmon, trout, milk, yogurt, eggs, beef, legumes, chicken, pork, nutritional and brewer’s yeast.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D serves many important functions in the human body, including the maintenance of healthy hair. Vitamin D helps the production of hair follicles that are tiny pores from which hairs grow. In other words, vitamin D stimulates regrowth and aid in getting thicker hair.
The best sources of vitamin D are the following foods: dairy products, oily fish, liver, red meat, egg yolk. Don’t forget to spend time in the sunlight.
Vitamin C, Zinc and Iron
Zinc and Iron are essential minerals that promote hair growth and repair.
Iron helps cells to get oxygen, while zinc helps oil glands around the hair follicles work properly. To prevent iron deficiency, enrich your diet with foods high in vitamin C. These foods will help your body absorb iron more efficiently. Vitamin C has antioxidant properties and also stimulates collagen production. Collagen is a protein that helps hair regeneration and prevents hair thinning, it may also prevent hair follicle damage and graying.
Get these nutrients by eating nutrient-dense foods such as meat, legumes, dark chocolate, potato, whole grains, nuts, dried fruits, spinach, shellfish, dairy products, eggs, lentils.
Enrich your diet with the best vitamins and minerals for hair! Try to get them all-natural through food. Otherwise, before you start using supplements consult with a doctor. They will recommend an optimal intake specifically for you and, you will be sure about the safety of the ingredients.