How can you eat healthy to manage your hair loss?

by Dr Yaman September 13, 2021

Long, strong and shiny hair is every person’s dream but not everyone is able to fulfill it. The best way to keep your scalp healthy is by following a healthy diet. While there are lots of products available in the market to improve the condition and look of your hair, its core quality can be refined only by providing it with nutrition. This improves the texture of your hair strands from their roots.

Why is diet important when it comes to hair growth?

Your diet is crucial to your hair health. Moreover, it is something that you can be in charge of, and manage on your own. In fact, it has been proven that your food intake has a direct correlation with the growth, thickness and volume of your hair. The quality of growth depends on various factors, one of them being nutrition intake.

Our hair needs nourishment in order to grow but because hair is not a vital organ or a tissue, your body never tends to prioritize its nutritional needs. Hence, any nutritional imbalance (both deficiency and excess), will often first show up in the form of hair loss.

Fact alert!

Our hair grows around 0.5 inches per month and 6 inches per year. So, if you want strong hair with good volume, keep a regular check on what you are eating. Don’t just eat right, eat what’s RIGHT for YOUR body.

We, at Traya believe that Ayurveda plays a vital role in maintaining hair health. According to Ayurveda, the hair texture depends on the balance and imbalances your body experiences from within. It is connected to the quality of your bone tissues. Any weakness in the bone tissue results in hair loss. The Ayurvedic treatment for hair also suggests a balanced diet. This would incorporate all the essential foods, rich in the necessary elements to help maintain the right levels of your doshas.

Out of the three doshas, Pitta dosha is the one that influences hair health. It controls your body’s digestion and metabolism. An imbalance in this dosha can cause indigestion, excess hair fall and most importantly, hair loss.

Here’s list of foods that can increase pitta, further leading to hair loss:

Keep away from foods that increase pitta: These foods are pungent, sour, salty or too hot. Stimulating foods just further invigorate Pitta, which is why the emphasis should be on moderate meals.
Fruits: Sour fruits, such as green apples, grapefruit, lemons, cranberries etc.
Oils and fats: Almond oil, corn oil, sesame oil.
Fermented foods: Like dosa, dhokla etc.

What does a hair healthy diet consist of?

Many people have been led to believe that a ‘healthy diet’ does not include all the elements needed for optimum hair growth and hair health, which is an absolute myth. This may include diets that contain fruits, vegetables, salads etc with no definite amount of both macro and micronutrients. The truth is that every hair cell in our body needs a balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, iron, vitamins, and minerals, in order to function at its best.

Here’s list of foods that can help you manage hair loss:

Eggs provide protein: Protein is the building block of hair and eggs are one of the richest natural sources of protein.

Spinach and other dark leafy greens provide iron: The hair follicle and root are given strength by mineral iron, a deficiency of which can cause hair loss. Green leafy vegetables such as kale, broccoli, and spinach are excellent sources of iron.

Citrus fruits to get your dose of vitamin C: Iron can only be absorbed effectively if you are ingesting vitamin C alongside. Eat a variety of citrus fruits like orange, kiwi, papaya for proper absorption of iron in the body.

Nuts and seeds for omega-3 fatty acids: It’s an essential fatty acid that must be obtained from your diet. It makes the line of the scalp and prevents hair follicle inflammation. Excellent sources of omega-3 include walnuts, avocado and pumpkin seeds.

Whole grains to obtain biotin: Biotin is essential for hair protein called keratin and lack of biotin results in brittle hair. Biotin rich foods like whole grains, yeast must be included in the diet.

Carrots rich in vitamin A: Vitamin A helps glands secrete an oily substance called sebum which moisturizes the scalp and keeps your hair healthy. Carrots, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes are rich sources of vitamin A.

All these points effectively explain how your diet can have a significant effect on your hair. We, at Traya give our customers a personalized nutrition plan that helps them identify a balanced diet. Stronger and longer hair is known to boost one’s confidence, thus letting you live your life to the fullest.