Best Foods for Healthy Hair

Salmon for Shine

Fish—salmon, sardines, mackerel—are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids; but the body can’t make these healthy fats, so you have to get them from the food you eat or take supplements.  They protect against disease as well as make your hair shiny and full.

Growth with Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is full of protein, the building blocks of hair.  It helps with the blood flow to the scalp and hair growth.  Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid, may also help with hair thinning or loss.  You can look for hair care products labels with pantothenic acid.

Spinach to Battle Brittle Hair

Like other leafy greens, spinach is chock full of ingredients like vitamin A, iron, beta carotene folate and vitamin C.  These ingredients work together to maintain a healthy scalp and mane.  It helps keep hair moisturized to prevent breakage.  Kale is another good choice too.

Guava to Prevent Breakage

This tropical fruit had lots of vitamin C, which protects the hair from breakage.  One cup of guava has 377 milligrams of vitamin C—that’s more than 4 times the minimum daily requirement and a bonus for your hair!

Iron-Fortified Cereal to Prevent Loss

If you’re not getting enough iron, it can lead to hair loss, but don’t fret—you can get this important nutrient in fortified cereals, grains, pastas, soybeans and lentils.  Beef and organ meats like, liver, also have lots of iron.  So do shellfish and dark leafy greens.

Lean Poultry for Thicker Hair

If you don’t eat enough protein, your hair growth “rests” and when it stops growing, the older hairs fall out resulting in hair loss.  You can get protein from meat, but choose leaner options like chicken or turkey, as they have less saturated fat than beef or pork.

Sweet Potatoes to Fight Dull Locks

Dry hair loses it shine, but you can bring it back with foods like sweet potatoes.  They are filled with the good-for-you anti-oxidant, beta carotene.  The body turns beta carotene into vitamin A, which protects against dry, dull hair, and encourages the glands in scalp to make an oily fluid called sebum, which keeps your hair from getting too dry.  You can also find beta carotene in other foods like orange vegetables like carrots, pumpkin, cantaloupe and mangoes.

Cinnamon for Circulation

Sprinkle a little cinnamon on oatmeal, toast or in your coffee to help with blood flow circulation.  It will help bring oxygen and other nutrients to the hair follicles.

Eggs for Growth

You can cover your protein and iron by eating eggs.  They are rich in a B vitamin called biotin that aids in hair growth.  If you’re not getting enough of this vitamin, it can lead to hair loss.  Biotin helps strengthen brittle fingernails as well.

Oysters for Fuller Hair

Oysters are rich in zinc, but if you don’t get enough of this mineral, you can have hair loss, even in your eyelashes.  In order for cells to build, the hair relies on zinc to help them work harder.  You can find zinc in beef, crab, lobster and fortified cereal.