As hair is made of a protein called keratin, a diet high in protein aids hair growth, keeping it strong and healthy.
If your intake of protein is low your hair can become dry, brittle, and weak. Extremely low protein diets may result in restricted hair growth and hair loss.
Many foods that are relatively high in protein are also high in fat, so the list below indicates the percentage of fat accompanying each food. Try to limit your intake of protein sources that derive more than 30% of their calories from fat. Your weight divided by 2.2 and multiplied by .8 = your recommended daily intake of protein.
Always check with your GP before making changes to your diet.
Iron is also an important nutrient for healthy hair. The hair follicle is feed by nutrient rich blood supply. When iron levels, Ferretin, fall below 70 ng/mL the hair cycle can be disrupted and hair shedding may occur.
Vitamin C aids the absorption of iron. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant.
Black currents, strawberries, blueberries, oranges, kiwi fruits are all good sources of Vitamin C, as well as sweet potatoes and broccoli.
Include dark green vegetables.
Eating a well balanced diet of the correct nutrients including protein, vitamins and minerals will supply your hair with the food it needs to grow, look shiny and strong.
A good hair diet could look like this:
Breakfast
Oatmeal, milk, honey
Lunch
Whole meal sandwich with cheese and salt
Dinner
Spicy salmon and lentils
Beef stew and root vegetables
Spinach, lentil and sweet potato dhal
For more recipes for a good hair diet check out the BBC GoodFood website.
Dairy and Eggs | | |
Cheddar cheese 1oz | 7 | 70% |
Cottage cheese (2%) 4o | 16 | 17% |
Egg 1 medium | 6 | 68% |
Milk, skimmed, 8oz | 8 | 56% |
Mozzarella, semi skimmed, 1oz | 6 | 5% |
Ricotta, semi skimmed, 4oz | 10 | 53% |
Yoghurt, low fat, plain, 8oz | 12 | 25% |
Meat and Fish 4oz ( good iron source) | | |
Chicken, roasted, no skin | 31 | 26% |
Turkey breast | 24 | 6% |
Minced beef, extra lean | 33 | 56% |
Sirloin steak, trimmed | 35 | 37% |
Tuna, canned in water | 33 | 12% |
Grains cooked | | |
Oatmeal, 8oz (good iron source | 6 | 12% |
Rice, brown 8oz | 5 | 4% |
Spaghetti 8oz | 6 | 5% |
Whole meal bread v2 slices | 6 | 13% |
Legumes and Nuts | | |
Almonds 1oz | 6 | 82% |
Cashews 1oz | 4 | 71% |
Peanut butter 2tbsp | 10 | 76% |
Lentils 4oz (good iron source) | 8 | 4% |
Red kidney beans 4oz canned | 10 | 4% |
Soy beans 4oz (good iron source) | 10 | 38% |
Tofu 4oz | 9 | 55% |
With thanks to Elizabeth Smith, Trichologist at Aderans for this information.