5 top nutrition tips for healthy hair
The cut you choose, the colour, the length, for many people their hair is a means of personal expression. It’s pretty much always on show, and can be a real reflection of your internal health so taking care of it is so important. Whilst nutrition isnt the be all and end all, it cetainly can play a key roll in keeping those lucious locks in tiptop shape. Every hair follicle has a cycle by which it grows. This is broken into three major phases; Growth (Anagen), Transition (Catagen), and Rest (Telogen). Your lifestyle, stress and nutrtional status can affect each of these stages, causing a shorter duration of hair growth, a delay in new growth, and thinner hair to develop.
Here are my top 5 tips for mainting healthy hair:
Take a chill pill
Stress can wreak havoc on your health and subsequently your hair. High levels of stress cause your body to release the hormone cortisol. Cortisol can directly communicate with your hair follicles, prematurely shifting the cycle from growth to rest, preventing it from growing. Whilst it's not possible to stop the production of cortisol, there are additions you can make into your diet which can produce counteractive brain-messengers such as the relaxation neurotransmitter GABA. It has been found that certain probiotic strains can produce GABA in vivo (naturally from your body) from the strains Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, found in most probiotic supplements as well as fermented dairy products. So include things like kefir and bio live yoghurt into your day.
Support your hairs metabolism
Just like every other cell in your body, your hair cells need energy for hair growth, there are 20 key cell types in the hair follicle alone. Many factors can affect your hair metabolism, including getting older, high levels of inflammation, and thyroid imbalances which leaves you with less energy to power healthy hair growth. Key nutrients to maintain good thyroid health are iodine, selenium, and zinc all of which fish and seaweed based products are a great source. Aim for at least 2-3 portions of sustainble caught fish a week, preferably from UK waters with at least one being oily ie salmon, trout or mackerel.
Be aware of pollution
City living, unfortunately, means your hair can suck up a lot of pollutants and heavy metals. Paired with over styling and constant use of chemical-based products, the natural hair cycle can be disrupted. If you’re walking anywhere where there are cars your hair picks up things like copper, iron and pollutants which make hair dull and dry due to damage of the hair follicles. Counteract this internally by loading up on your dietary antioxidants, lots of colour, fruit & vegetables high in vitamins C and E. Don't forget healthy fats such as a high quality extra virgin olive oil to complete your antioxidant library. Also, invest in products which contain these natural antioxidants to directly target the hair, marketed as anti-pollution treatments.
Watch out for heavy metal (No, not the music genre)
At toxic levels, mercury can cause free-radical damage within the hair follicle. Symptoms of mercury toxicity can range from fatigue, depression, insomnia, and hair loss. When you eat seafood containing methyl mercury, a whopping 95% of the toxin is absorbed so limit your consumption of things like swordfish and marlin. Women who haven’t been through the menopause shouldn't have more than 2 portions of oily fish a week due to the mercury content, but please note, mercury concentrations in UK-farmed salmon and trout are relatively low, don't panic and restrict your intake! Those omegas are key for health. Finally, try and have no more than 4 cans of tuna a week or no more than 2 tuna steaks a week. Tuna does contain higher levels of mercury than other fish, but again, this only becomes an issue with overconsumption and is mostly applicable to women who are trying/pregnant.
You hair what you eat
Key nutrients and strong gut health are vital to building hair fibres, structures, and support follicle health. Deficiencies in protein, biotin, vitamin D, iodine, zinc, and selenium are linked poorer hair health, but bare caution with supplementing as OVER supplementation of selenium, Vitamin A and E are linked to hair loss, more isn’t always better. Below is a list of key dietary factors which play a roll in the hair cycle, keeping everything running in perfect sync!
Key vitamins: A, C, E, D and all the B vits ( Dont forget that vitamins A, D and E are fat soluble for require at least 3g of fat in the meal to be absorbed/
Key protiens: Methionine, cysteine, lysine, keratin as well as adequate overall intake
Key minerals: Iodine, zinc, iron, celenium, copper and manganese
Other: Antioxidants in polyhenol rich foods ie berries and EVOO, Omega-3 fatty acids, fermented gut supporting foods.