While it is normal to shed around 50 to 100 hairs per day, excessive hair fall can take a heavy toll on your physical and mental well-being. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, about 80 million of the American population experience hair loss.

There are myriad causes of hair loss, some of which are as follows:

• In a vast majority of cases, it’s in your genes – i.e. it runs in your families

• Poor diet and lack of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals: This represents the major cause of hair loss in both men and women before the age of 50

• Stress

• Aging: By the age of 50, up to 50% of people will start experiencing hair loss

• Acute illness

• An overactive immune system such as occurs in alopecia areata

• Medical conditions like thyroid disease and cancer

• Using harsh hair-care products

• Bad hairstyles that damage hair

• Pregnancy

• Use of certain medications

• Psychological compulsion of pulling one’s hair

Despite the aforementioned factors, getting thicker, beautiful, and healthy hair is still in the cards by tweaking some of your dietary and lifestyle patterns. Nutrition profoundly impacts both hair structure and hair growth. In this post, we’ll walk you through certain vitamin-rich foods that not only benefit your hair but also your overall health.

1. Carrots

Being high in carotenoids, this orange-colored vegetable can strengthen your hair and prevent hair breakage and loss. Carotenoids are a precursor to vitamin A (retinol), a fat-soluble vitamin that has been shown to activate the stem cells from which a hair follicle sprouts. This, in turn, promotes hair growth.

Moreover, owing to its antioxidant potential, vitamin A in carrots can help minimize the oxidative stress, which is one of the key mechanisms leading to hair graying and hair loss. Oxidative stress is a process in which the generation of free radicals exceeds the ability of our body to cancel out their damaging effects. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that can sabotage our DNA, the cells and their structure — including hair follicles.

Try drinking a glass of fresh carrot juice every morning to revive the health and shine of your hair. This will also help maintain healthy vision.

2. Egg Yolk

Egg yolk has several vitamins that can reduce hair breakage. In addition to vitamin A, egg yolk also holds high amounts of biotin. Biotin (or vitamin H) is a member of the water-soluble, B complex vitamins. It plays a vital role in the formation of keratin. Keratin is a naturally-occurring protein in hair (also in skin and nails) that forms a protective layer around the hair shaft, thereby helping it stay strong, thick, and elastic.

A recent study showed that biotin supplementation offered a good deal of benefit when used by people with poor hair and nail growth. A lack of biotin can otherwise cause hair loss and brittle nails.

Other good sources of biotin include:

• Sweet potato

• Nuts

• Legumes

• Whole grains

3. Avocado and Pomegranate

Avocado is packed with multiple nutrients (including vitamins and minerals) and antioxidants that increase your hair thickness and growth. Sipping an avocado smoothie helps you absorb more of the nutrients and antioxidants, promoting long, healthy hair. Likewise, fresh pomegranate juice is high in antioxidants as shown in this research, which may help combat oxidative stress in the scalp and speed up hair growth.

4. Oranges, Grapefruit, Lime, and Lemon, Pineapple, Papaya

What’s the similarity among these fruits? They are all enriched with vitamin C. Apart from its antioxidant characteristics, this water-soluble vitamin is responsible for the production of collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body that also provides the skin and hair with their resilience and elasticity. Matsumura and fellows discovered that a certain type of collagen is critical for the maintenance of hair follicle stem cells (HFSC). If this collagen is destroyed, it triggers HFSC aging. The hairs produced by the aged HFSC fail to grow to a maximum size, are thinner and shorter, and will eventually disappear.

Simply adding any two of the above-listed vitamin C-rich fruits in your diet regime can help meet the vitamin C requirements and ensure the production of collagen that acts a protective barrier against hair loss.

5. Dairy Products

Dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese etc. are a fantastic source of vitamin D, which also contributes to healthy hair growth. How? Our skin contains vitamin D receptors that are vital to supporting stem cell renewal and hair follicle growth. The vitamin D we take in our diet binds to these receptors and stimulates hair follicle cycling and growth. Low levels of vitamin D and its receptors have been linked to hair loss. For this reason, when hair loss is a concern, the doctor will usually measure your vitamin D levels to check for its deficiency. An Egyptian study revealed that the vitamin D levels drop reciprocally as the hair loss worsens.

6. Nuts

Peanuts and almonds are essential for accelerating hair growth. Almonds are rich in vitamin E, which is a potent antioxidant and fights oxidative stress in the scalp, which can otherwise pave the way for hair thinning and hair loss. A trial conducted on twenty-one volunteers with baldness and hair loss showed a significant improvement in the hair count after vitamin E supplementation for 8 months.

Other than consuming a handful of nuts, drinking almond milk provides a dual advantage as both almonds and milk are known to stimulate hair growth.

7. Apricots and Kiwi

Both these fruits are rich in vitamin A, E, and antioxidants. Given its antioxidant properties, vitamin E helps protect the scalp from oxidative stress that in turn, prevents hair loss and optimizes hair growth. Vitamin A invigorates the hair follicles and maintains a healthy scalp, which averts hair fall.

8. Cucumber

Loaded with vitamin K, vitamin C, B vitamins, and copper, cucumber may help you avoid hair loss. Drinking cucumber juice daily is likely to impart a healthy shine to your lackluster hair and make it thicker. This is because the antioxidant-potential of vitamin C will drive out the oxidative stress and the B vitamins with their hair-strengthening properties will deliver resilient and stronger hair.

8. Seafood

Regular consumption of seafood can also make your hair grow faster. Brimming with omega-3 fatty acids, seafood is also a good source of vitamin D and vitamin B2 (also known as riboflavin). The Ω-3 fats in seafood play their own part in imparting a healthy and glossy look to your hair.

9. Red and White Meat

Even though meat should be consumed in a moderate amount, it can be considered as a natural multi-vitamin to boost hair growth. Packed with protein, iron, vitamin B12, and vitamin B3 (niacin), moderate consumption of meat may assist in hair growth. In particular, the role of niacin in preventing and/or treating hair loss is worth-noticing. This vitamin augments keratin synthesis, removes toxins from the skin, and opens the vessels supplying blood to the scalp, boosting the blood flow. This makes your hair grow thicker and faster.

Niacin (vitamin B3) deficiency can wreak havoc on the health of your hair transforming you from beautiful to fully bald as was observed in the Italian victims of pellagra – a serious disease caused by the deficiency of niacin. While eating niacin-rich diet offers a great deal of benefit for the health of your hair, topical application of niacin is also immensely helpful.

Because it’s water-soluble, niacin doesn’t get stored in the body and should be taken in diet or supplemented, further emphasizing its importance. Additional dietary sources of vitamin B3 include:

• Whole wheat grains

• Legume vegetables

• Milk

• Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and lettuce

• Fish

• Peanuts

Wrapping up

As quoted by an ancient physician - Paracelsus, “The art of healing comes from nature.” The ideal way to nourish hair does not rely on marketing hype but a well-balanced diet and formulations supported by proper evidence. Using a natural diet-based approach can optimize hair growth to a great extent.