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Many commercial vitamin and mineral preparations claim they will
accelerate hair growth, make hair stronger and longer, help prevent hair loss,
and so on. If you are eating a balanced diet, these products should not be
necessary. In some cases they might even throw off the natural balance among the
nutrients found in the food you eat. Following are some vitamins considered
important to a healthy scalp and rich, luxuriant locks.
BETA-CAROTENE/VITAMIN A. Vitamin A plays a vital role in the growth and health
of cells and tissues throughout the body, including the cells of the
scalp and hair. A fat-soluble antioxidant, vitamin A also helps produce and
protect the sebum (oil) in the scalp, and a deficiency can cause dandruff.
Ironically, an excess of vitamin A (due to supplements) causes hair loss. My
favorite way to get enough vitamin A is to consume plenty of beta-carotene,
since the body can then syn- thesize all the vitamin A it needs. Among my Top10 Beauty Foods, you’ll find significant amounts of beta-carotene in sweet
potatoes, spinach, kiwi, and tomatoes. You can also add beta-carotene to your
diet with foods like pumpkin, carrots, chilies, mangoes, cantaloupe, and
apricots. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, preformed vitamin A can be found
in oysters, yogurt, and salmon.
VITAMIN B COMPLEX. Without vitamin B, hair growth slows and the hair shafts produced are
weak and brittle. Some B vitamins are believed to help prevent hair
loss, some are thought to assist with the production of keratin, and others are
said to boost circulation to the scalp. Vitamin B6 helps create melanin, which
gives hair its color. A major player in commercial hair products is biotin (B7),
perhaps because a bona fide deficiency of this vitamin causes hair loss. On the
other hand, studies have not demonstrated that people who already have adequate
levels of biotin will benefit from ingesting even more. Some shampoos now
contain biotin, but it is not certain this ingredient has any useful effect.
Vitamins B6, B12, and folate (B9)
all help to form red blood cells, which bring oxygen to the hair and allow it
to grow at a healthy rate. As you have learned already, the B vitamins work
together, so a deficiency of any one of them can affect the proper functioning
of the whole group. Different foods have different amounts of each B vitamin,
so eat a varied diet to obtain all of them.
Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, the best source of thiamine (B1)
and biotin (B7) is walnuts, the best source of riboflavin (B2) and pantothenic
acid (B5) is yogurt, the best source of niacin (B3) is wild salmon, the best source
of folate (B9) is spinach, and the best source of cobalamin (B12)—which is
available only from animal sources—is oysters. Spinach, walnuts, and salmon are
all good sources of pyridoxine (B6).
VITAMIN C. A
nutrient superhero, vitamin C is essential to fabulous hair and a
healthy scalp. It aids circulation to the skin and maintains the
capillaries that support the hair follicles.If you are not eating abundant amounts of vitamin C–rich foods every
day, you may not have enough to take care of your lovely locks. In fact, a
deficiency of vitamin C can cause hair breakage. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, significant amounts of vitamin C are found in blueberries, kiwi,
sweet potatoes, spinach, and tomatoes. Vitamin C is also found in foods like
peppers, oranges, strawberries, lemons, and broccoli. (For more information on
vitamin C, see body beautiful post.)
VITAMIN E. Because
it is a fat-soluble antioxidant, vitamin E protects the scalp’s natural oils.
Vitamin E also works well with other antioxidants to protect lipid membranes.
This vitamin has also been reported to improve scalp circulation. Among my Top10 Beauty Foods, vitamin E can be found in blueberries, kiwifruit, spinach,
tomatoes, and walnuts. Other good sources of vitamin E include wheat germ,
sunflower seeds, safflower and sunflower oils, almonds, peaches, prunes, cabbage,
asparagus, and avocados.
Must-Have Minerals for Lovely, Lustrous Locks
Good things come in small packages. If you’ve ever opened a blue gift
box from Tiffany and Co., you know that a very big box is great . . . but a
small box is better! For fabulous hair, you need certain minerals in tiny amounts.
These trace minerals affect everything from the growth rate of your hair to its
color and texture—and the ideal way to obtain them is by eating the variety of
whole, natural foods included in my Beauty Diet.
IRON. Iron
plays a role in hair health because it helps red blood cells carry oxygen to
the hair follicles. While anemia is sometimes an undiagnosed cause of hair loss
in women, even if you are not clinically anemic, you can experience hair
loss simply from not getting enough iron in your diet. It has been well
established that women with alopecia (hair loss and baldness) often have low
levels of iron in their blood. For these women, supplementary iron helps hair
growth. Iron deficiency can also leave you with lusterless, dry, brittle hair.
Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, the best sources of iron are
oysters, spinach, and tomatoes. Other animal sources of iron include clams,
lean beef, turkey, duck, lamb, chicken, pork, shrimp, and eggs. Good plant
sources of iron include soybeans, lentils, beans, and bran. (For more information
on iron, see the end of this chapter.) Plant foods contain nonheme iron, which
is not as well absorbed as the heme iron in chicken, fish, and lean beef;
however, you can enhance your body’s ability to absorb nonheme iron by
consuming vitamin C in the same meal.
COPPER. In
addition to playing a role in the structure of hair shafts, copper is important
to the color of your hair. Because copper is essential to the formation of
hemoglobin, it also is involved in bringing oxygen to your hair follicles. If
you follow my Beauty Diet, you will not need to worry about your copper
intake. A deficiency usually comes either from genetic problems or from taking
zinc supplements, which can inhibit the absorption of copper in the body.
SELENIUM. Any
discussion of healthy hair has to include selenium, because this trace
mineral is important to the scalp. Selenium helps keep skin supple and elastic
by preventing cellular damage from free radicals. Ironically, too much selenium
(selenosis) can cause hair loss. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, you’ll
find significant amounts of selenium in salmon and oysters. Brazil nuts are an
extraordinarily good source of selenium. Other selenium-rich foods include
tuna, crab, whole wheat bread, wheat germ, garlic, eggs, and brown rice.
SILICON. This
element is found in abundance in our environment, although as we continue to
deplete minerals from the soil, our consumption of silicon has declined. In the
human body, silicon is found in high concentrations in skin and hair. It
is important to the health of your scalp, plus it helps strengthen your hair.
High-fiber diets contain lots of silicon, which is widely distributed in whole
grains. Silicon is also found in bananas, root vegetables, rice, soybeans, and
many other foods.
SULFUR. This
trace mineral matters because it is present in cysteine, an amino acid that is
crucial to hair growth. This means sulfur helps your body create longer,
stronger hair. Sulfur is readily available in a wide variety foods, including eggs,
meat, fish, dairy products, onions, and garlic.
ZINC. We
know zinc is important to terrific tresses and a healthy scalp because low
levels of zinc can cause hair loss and even a loss of eyelashes. A zinc
deficiency can also cause the scalp to become dry and flaky. As an antioxidant,
zinc helps guard against free-radical damage to your scalp (and elsewhere).
Many people are deficient in zinc, but taking zinc supplements can throw off
your body’s natural balance between zinc and copper. Among my Top 10 Beauty Foods, oysters are an extraordinarily good source of zinc, and yogurt is
also helpful. Other foods that contain zinc include seafood, beef, lamb, eggs,
whole grains, and nuts.
BEAUTY MYTH
Lemon Juice Will Lighten Your Hair
True or false? This beauty myth is actually
partly true. If you put lemon juice in your hair and stay inside, nothing will
happen, even if you use a hair dryer. To get the lightening effect of lemons,
work a generous amount of lemon juice into your hair, then go outside in
the sun. The UV light will lighten your hair. When lemon juice is applied to
your hair, the citric acid in the lemon juice opens up the cuticle. Once the
cuticle is open, the hair becomes more sensitive to changes such as sunlight.
The combination of the acid in the lemon juice, the oxygen in the air, and the
UV rays from the sun results in a bleaching process. The lemon juice acts as a
catalyst, so you will see your hair lighten faster. This reaction is called acid-catalyzed oxidation.
BEYOND THE BEAUTY DIET
The Lifestyle for Lovely, Luxuriant Locks
Follow these guidelines for thick,
gorgeous, captivating hair:
*Get
some exercise. Take
some time to exercise daily, if only for a few minutes. Exercise improves the
blood flow to your scalp, which hastens the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to
hair follicles, which leads to healthier hair.
*Avoid
rapid weight loss. A
harsh truth is that dieting can make your hair fall out! Crash diets
often lack proper nutrition, and rapid weight loss in itself is a stress on the
body and can also trigger metabolism changes that affect hair growth. If you
lose more than 10 percent of your body weight over a couple of months (e.g.,
more than 15 pounds if you weighed 150), you can lose hair. Additionally,
nutritional deficiencies can contribute to increased hair shedding by weakening
hair shafts that cause breakage to the hair and slow regrowth.
*Avoid
low-protein diets. Hair
is 97 percent protein. If you are vegan, make sure you are getting enough
protein. Diets that are based on eating mostly rice or mostly fruits do not
provide enough protein for beautiful hair.
*If
you smoke, quit now. Smoking
creates free radicals, fills your blood with toxins, and interferes with your body’s ability to deliver fresh nutrients to your scalp and hair follicles.
*Don’t stress! Stress
is closely linked to hair loss. Chronic stress interferes with abundant blood
circulation in the scalp, which restricts the amount of oxygen and nutrients
that reaches your hair follicles. Severe stress—either physical or emotional—causes
large numbers of hairs to stop growing and to shift into a resting phase. Two
to three months later, all the resting hairs begin falling out. The good news
is that eventually this hair grows back.
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