A woman’s tresses are her most prized assets. No matter how short/ long, healthy/dull a woman will always be fussing with her tresses. She knows it is that part of her body that can make her look or break her look. So as women, we style them, we color them, we get them cut bob- short, we use extensions- just to get that hair right. It is a constant struggle for most of us to have our hair just behave, live and breathe.
But do we really put in the right kind of effort into making it happen? History is brimming with stories on how hair was looked at as the earliest definition of beauty. There is one thing our age and the ancient times have in common – a woman’s need for healthy hair. But what really makes your hair healthy - the hair spas and hair conditioning or feeding the right things to help sustain beautiful hair? Of course, the latter does
Given below are foods that will give you the hair of your dreams-
1. Nuts and seeds
This is the first on my list because it is often forgotten from our daily diet. Nuts are actually the easiest foods to grab – instead of that sev puri around the corner of your office/ home. Keep a good stock of them in your best access drawers and you will find yourself on your way to better hair and better waistline. Pistachios, almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts, flaxseeds, pine nuts are all superb foods for the hair.
- Cashews and almonds are biotin-rich nuts that feed elastin to the hair and prevent breakage. Pistachios can hinder baldness.
- Walnuts and flaxseeds give you that dose of omega 3 fatty acids
Well wouldn’t you say it’s best not to stop ignoring these wonderful nuts and seeds in your kitchens this New Year?
2. Vegetables
You’ve all heard from your mothers of how vegetables are amazing hair foods; so I’ll keep this short. Eat lots of green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, coriander, mint leaves, etc- they will give you the much-needed mineral boost. Lack of minerals is the most common cause of hair woes. Sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, cantaloupe are all great vegetables to feed your hair for that shine!
3. Fruits
Orange, guava, kiwi, papaya, strawberry all help strengthen the hair follicle and prevent brittleness. Take care to include at least two fruits in your daily diet and see the wonders it does.
4. Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps absorb iron in our body, which in turn helps reduce hair fall. Come on, let’s agree. Every mom must have given this advice to her daughter- Eat amla. They’ll make your hair so beautiful and bouncy. Well our mums were absolutely right. We need to bring amlas back into our diet and do it now!
5. Proteins
Protein rich foods strengthen the hair. All you vegetarians out there, start imbibing a balanced portion of these in your diet- Milk and milk products, sprouts, tofu, green peas, pulses, oats. All these foods have good levels of proteins- so vegetarians need to have them in enough amounts. Including a cup of yoghurt in your daily diet will work wonders for your hair.
Consume oats – they are antioxidant-rich and help maintain the health of your hair. Non-vegetarians, on the other hand, have a protein-rich diet as such because the following are protein-rich: poultry, fish, eggs, meat. They, in fact, need to take care to not eat these in excess because too many proteins can be a cause of hair fall.
Our mums used to oil our hair saying- this will give you gorgeous hair. But since we moved out of the whole oiling-your-hair routine and not being mumma’s li’l girls, we need to do a little extra something to bring the beautiful hair back.
Limit the consumption of sugar and oily foods, include the above listed foods in your diet and Lo! Say hello to your happy, healthy hair!
RICH SOURCES OF NIACIN & BIOTIN FOR YOUR HAIR (Kindly include any of these in your Diet Everyday)
SOURCES OF NIACIN
- Mushrooms
- Asparagus
- Tahini (white sesame seeds added in Hummus)
SOURCES OF BIOTIN
- Nuts – Peanuts & walnuts
- Almonds
- Kidney Beans
- Vegetables – Onions, tomato, carrots, mushrooms
- Oats