6 of the Best Superfoods for Hair Loss

Superfoods are all the range these days, with everyone from doctors, scientists and nutritionists to your next-door neighbour and distant family friends raving about their health benefits. While some superfoods are questionable to say the least – kale, we’re looking at you – many of them are actually really delicious, as well as being good for you.

Most people eat superfoods for health or body image purposes – to lose weight, satisfy hunger cravings between meals and boost energy levels – or simply out of enjoyment. But the benefits of superfoods are far more widely spread than you may realise.

New evidence suggests that superfoods can play a substantial role in your hair health. Not only can including more superfoods in your diet help you to maintain stronger and thicker hair, research has found that some superfoods can even put a stop to hair loss.

Hair loss is common in up to 80% of men and 50% of women. Most of us will experience it in some form throughout our lives, and knowing how to treat the issue naturally will save you a good chunk of money on “miracle” hair products that might not even work.

Here are 6 of the best superfoods to stock up on if you’re experiencing hair loss:

·         Carrots

Remember when your mum used to tell you that eating carrots could make you see in the dark? While this might not be quite the truth, carrots are good for your eyesight, thanks to their vitamin A content – which is also great for hair health.

Vitamin A helps the scalp produce a healthy sebum to nourish and protect the hair, and reduces breakage. Other vitamins in carrots include vitamin C and E, which improve the flow of blood around your scalp, promoting thicker and stronger hair. Add carrots to your salads, juices, curries and stews if you’re missing out.

·         Nuts

Nuts are an especially popular superfood, and are easy to incorporate into your diet as a snacking food or protein-rich addition to sweet and savoury dishes.

The best nuts to add to your diet for promoting hair growth are walnuts, which are packed full of omega-3 fatty acids, and brazil nuts, which are high in selenium. Selenium is actually used in a number of hair loss products, and if we’re deficient in it, we’re at a higher risk of losing our hair.

·         Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of the best foods for hair loss, owing to their high quantities of iron, copper, potassium, magnesium and beta-carotene. Beta carotene promotes a healthy scalp, and is essential for hair growth and regrowth.

It’s much healthier to get your beta carotene content from sweet potato, rather than supplementing, as too much of the nutrient can actually lead to hair loss. Try switching your regular potato with sweet potato in dishes for something a little different.

·         Avocadoes

No list of superfoods would be complete without the beloved avocado. Whether you’re mashing it and using it as a toast topper, adding it to your salads, dipping your chips into it, or blitzing it into your smoothies, you’ll get the same health benefits from the popular fruit either way.

Applying avocado directly to your hair and scalp will strengthen hair cells and repair damage on the scalp, preventing hair loss. If you’d rather actually eat your avocado (they’re expensive, you know), you’ll get the same sorts of benefits, so don’t worry.

·         Eggs

Love them or hate them, eggs – cooked the right way – are fantastic for preventing hair loss. Omega 3 opens up the hair follicles and promotes hair growth which can effectively make up for daily hair loss.

It’s the yolk of the egg that’s so effective in hair growth, not the white, as the yolk contains almost 90% of the entire egg’s nutrients. Make sure your boil or poach your eggs rather than frying them in an unhealthy oil if you want to make the most of their all-round health benefits.

·         Oats

Don’t be so quick to dismiss porridge as a grandma food – there’s plenty to enjoy from your morning oats, and your hair will thank you for your diet choices.

Oats are chock-full of fibre, protein, and iron, as well as minerals like magnesium, thiamine, folate, and pantothenic acid, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, and copper (phew). These nutrients combined help to strengthen and protect hair at the scalp, promoting healthy hair follicles and encouraging growth.