Healthy Diet Tips to Stop Thinning Hair

Can eating beans cure premature balding? You Bet!

Ever look down after taking a hot shower, and see a giant mop-worthy clump of your own hair clinging to the drain cover?

Relax- it happens to everybody.  Just be glad you noticed now, and not after spending a fortune on Rogaine, and other expensive hair loss remedies.  With a few simple changes to your diet, you can effectively turn back the aging process; at least as far as your hair health is concerned.  Including nutritious foods that contain vitamin B12, iron, and zinc will keep your hair lively, lush, and most importantly of all, present.

Here are five essential foods for preventing baldness:

Lean protein

One of the best nutrients for keeping a full head of hair is vitamin B12, which also keeps your hair from turning white prematurely.  Weak nails, sallow skin, and thinning hair are all evidence of vitamin B12 deficiency, in addition to fatigue, memory loss, and tingling in the hands and feet.  To avoid becoming deficient in vitamin B12, include plenty of lean protein in your diet.  Cottage cheese, fish, and lean cuts of beef are excellent sources of B12 that also boost hair growth.  Other great choices are eggs, chicken, and lamb.  If you follow a vegan diet, then you should take vitamin B12 supplements to avoid low B12 levels.  See On Becoming Vegan: Avoiding Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Others.

Iron

Iron is essential for producing oxygen-toting hemoglobin, making it a necessary ally for healthy hair, skin, and nails. Dried fruits such as raisins, dates, and figs are dynamic sources of iron, in addition to tofu, dark leafy greens, and iron-fortified cereals.  For maximum absorption, pair iron-rich foods with vitamin C.  Think spinach salad with chopped strawberries, or date-nut shakes with Mandarin orange segments.

Zinc

Zinc deficiency is a common cause of male pattern baldness.  Zinc is essential for producing cells, maintaining hormone levels, and keeping your hair follicles strong- all of which significantly affect your hair growth.  Oysters are rich in iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, making it an optimal choice for healthy hair.  Other seafood dishes that have zinc are shrimp and clams. Don’t like fish?  Meat, poultry, and nuts are also rich in zinc.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3s are healthy for the scalp, in addition to promoting hair growth.  Doctors often prescribe omega-3 oils to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, to help avoid hair loss.  Flax seed is high in omega-3 fats and iron.  Sprinkle ground flaxseeds on salads and yogurt for a healthy boost of nutrients with a nutty flavor.  Salmon is high in omega-3s; if you like canned salmon, choose the bone-in variety for extra calcium.

Silica

Silica is a nutrient that is essential for properly absorbing vitamins and minerals from food.  To benefit fully from foods that boost hair growth and delay age-related baldness and hair thinning, you should include foods that contain silica.  Bean sprouts top the list as the most silica-rich foods.  Other selections with silica are cucumbers, bell peppers, and potatoes.

Related reading:

Ten Bites to Better Brain Power

7 Commandments for Taming Frizzy Hair

Vitamin B12 for Healthy Hair, Skin and Nails

Sources:

Foods That Prevent Hair Loss – FoxNews.com

How to slow or reverse hair loss with a healthy diet and nutritional supplements

Losing Your Hair? Eat These 9 Foods

Although food sources of B12 are considerably many and varied, most happen to be (if not all true sources) proteins, which means animal products. This is why so many vegans and vegetarians are at risk for a B12 deficiency. However, those items high in B12 are also fairly well known for their ability to add toxicity to the body. The RDA does not recommend much red meat or seafood high in mercury as part of the daily diet, but these are the items which possess the highest B12 values.

For example the items which are highest in the amount of B12 would be canned mollusks and clams in liquid – averaging 500 mcg of B12 (They average around 134 mcg of B12 if in a raw, unprocessed state). These widely popular foods are often extremely high in mercury and can actually be detrimental to your health if you eat too many.

Same sort of problems occur with meat. The meats highest in B12 would be lamb, beef and moose variety meats, by-products and internal organs such as kidneys, liver and even the brain (cooked and uncooked). These items average between 130 mcg to 85 mcg of B12 per type of protein. Most of these meat items however are too high in toxins to be consumed on a daily basis. In fact eating too many of these items too often will result in the individual developing a case of gout – arthritis like stiffening of the joints caused by the buildup of too many uric acid crystals.

Surprisingly however there are items which are both high in B12 and are safer to eat on a regular basis. Certain Alaskan fish such as whitefish and eggs each contain around 108 mcg of B12, while also providing omega-3s, healthy cholesterol and even choline. These are the sorts of items which may replace the unhealthier version of protein in your diet while delivering optimum dosages of the vitamin.

Ocean fish brings much less B12 – averaging around 2 mcgs of the vitamins. This is about the same as most cheeses, lean young fresh ground meat, crustaceans, and whey. The best option for a B12 rich diet is to consume plenty of dairy, egg and healthy fish sources very often, while enjoying the hotdog, the burger, the liver spread, ocean fish and mollusks should be left for a treat to keep your system healthy and strong.