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Hair loss can be very embarrassing and stressful to deal with especially for women. Hair treatment would be needed to solve severe hair loss, but beyond that here are some foods that are good for hair growth and thickness that you can find in Singapore.
1. Eggs
Eggs are a great source of protein and biotin, two nutrients that may promote hair growth. Eating enough protein is crucial for hair growth because hair follicles are mostly made up of protein and studies have shown that lack of protein in food diet does contribute to hair loss. Eggs also contain biotin, which is essential for the production of the hair protein called keratin. You would see very often that biotin supplements are often marketed or promoted for hair growth. Research studies has also shown that consumption of more biotin can improve hair growth in people who has biotin deficiency.
It is rare to suffer from biotin deficiency if you maintain a balanced diet. There is little evidence to show healthy people benefit from consuming more biotin. Did you know that eggs are also a great source of zinc, selenium and other hair-healthy nutrients? This makes them one of the best foods to eat for hair growth.
In a nutshell: consuming eggs on a daily basis gives you a great source of protein and biotin, which are both essential for hair growth. A lack in either of these nutrients has been commonly correlated to hair loss.
2. Vegetables: Spinach
Healthy green vegetable like Spinach contains beneficial nutrients such as folate, iron, and vitamins A and C, all of which may promote hair growth. Vitamin A plays the role of helping the skin glands produce sebum. This oily substance then helps moisturize our scalp to keep our hair healthy.
Roughly 30 grams of spinach can support up to 50% of your daily vitamin A requirements. Other than vitamin A, iron is also important for hair growth, of which Spinach is also a great plant-based source for our hair growth. The role of iron is to help red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body to fuel our metabolism rate and help with growth and repair. Furthermore, severely lacking iron in food intake have been linked to hair loss.
In a nutshell: Spinach contains folate, iron, and vitamins A and C, which may promote hair growth. Severe lack of these nutrients may result in hair loss.
3. Fatty Fish
Fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel contain nutrients that may promote hair growth. This is because they are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been correlated to promote hair growth. Research has shown that taking supplements loaded with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as antioxidants aided in reducing hair loss and increased hair growth. Another study revealed that taking fish oil supplement significantly reduced hair loss and increased hair growth in women with thinning hair – so do not underestimate food nutrition such as fish oil supplements!
However, to be measured, findings on consumption of omega-3 fatty acids promoting hair growth are limited. More studies and evidence are required before health experts such as dermatologists can make full-proof recommendations. To grow strong and healthy hair, fatty fish is also another contributor providing a great source of protein, selenium, vitamin D3 and B vitamins. You can easily purchase salmon in NTUC, Sheng Shiong or other supermarkets near you.
In a nutshell: Consuming fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been correlated to improvement in hair growth and thickness.
4. Berries
Berries contain lots of beneficial compounds and vitamins that may promote hair growth, including vitamin C, which provides strong antioxidant properties. The presences of antioxidants can help protect hair follicles against damage from harmful molecules also known as free radicals. These free radicals unfortunately cannot be avoided 100% as they exist naturally in the human body and our environment.
For instance, 1 cup of strawberries (150g) can provide almost 150% of your daily vitamin C needs. In addition, the body uses vitamin C to produce collagen, a type of protein that helps strengthen hair to prevent it from becoming brittle and easily breaking. Guess what, vitamin C aids the body by helping absorb iron from our diet. Low iron levels may cause anemia, which can contribute to hair loss.
In a nutshell: Berries contain compounds such as antioxidants and vitamins that may promote hair growth. Strawberries are rich in vitamin C, which aids production of collagen and absorption of iron in the body, two important factors that may contribute to hair growth.
5. Avocados
The taste of avocados can be either delicious or nay, but they are found to be nutritious and to have a good source of healthy fats. They also provide a great source of vitamin E, which may promote hair growth. One avocado (of say 200 grams) contains 21% of your daily vitamin E needs. Similar to vitamin C, vitamin E is an antioxidant that aids in combating oxidative stress by neutralizing the free radicals in our body. In this research study, people with hair loss experienced 34.5% more hair growth after consuming a vitamin E supplement for duration of 8 months.
Whats good about vitamin E? It helps protect areas of the skin, like the scalp, from oxidative stress and damage. If you have damaged skin on the scalp, it can result in poor hair quality and fewer hair follicles. In addition, avocados provide for an excellent source of essential fatty acids. These fats unfortunately cannot be produced by the body, but are essential building blocks of your body cells. A lack of essential fatty acids has been correlated to hair loss.
In a nutshell: Avocados are rich in vitamin E, where is antioxidant that may promote hair growth. They are also a great source of essential fatty acids, which seem to be crucial for hair growth.
6. Sweet Potatoes
Did you know that sweet potatoes contain a great source of beta-carotene? The body converts this compound into vitamin A, which is correlated to promoting hair growth. A medium sweet potato contains enough beta-carotene to provide more than 4x your daily requirements for vitamin A. Studies has proven that vitamin A contributes to the production of sebum, which aids in keeping our hair healthy. In addition, vitamin A could also increase the rate of hair growth and encourage the growth of thicker hair – all while preventing other hair follicles from regressing.
In a nutshell: Sweet potatoes is a great source of vitamin A, which aids in sebum production. On top of that, it has other contributions that may help increase the rate of hair growth.
7. Meat
Not many of us can be full time long term vegetarian eaters. Due to that, meat is considered to be a staple in many people’s diet and is rich in nutrients that may help in the growth of hair. The meat that we consume contains protein and that helps hair growth and aids in repairing and strengthen hair follicles. A 100-gram serving of cooked sirloin steak provides as much as 29 grams of protein. Red meat is rich in a type of iron that’s easy to absorb. This iron mineral aids the red blood cells to deliver oxygen to all cells in the body, including hair follicles. Having severe lack of protein and iron in diets have been correlated to having hair loss.
In a nutshell: Meat is loaded with a great source of protein, which is necessary for healthy, thick and strong hair. Red meat, is rich in iron, which may help promote hair growth.
8. Oysters
For those of us who love oysters, you will be happy to know this. Oysters are one of the best food sources of zinc. Zinc is a mineral that aids and supports hair growth and repair cycle. If you are not consuming Zinc on a long term basis, you may attract telogen effluvium, a common but reversible form of hair loss caused by a lack of nutrients in the diet.
Research have proven that taking zinc supplements can reverse the effects of hair loss caused by a zinc deficiency. On the other hand, it is also no good consuming too much zinc as it could also lead to hair loss. Hence if you can, obtaining zinc from foods like oysters may be better than consuming supplements, since foods provide zinc in small but healthy portions.
In a nutshell: Oysters are one of the best sources of zinc in our food diet. As Zinc plays a role in supporting the hair growth and repair cycle.
9. Nuts
For those of us who like to snack and are frequently hungry, this is good news for you. Consume more nuts. This is because nuts are delicious, convenient and provide a range of nutrients that may promote hair growth. For example, 28 grams of almonds already contains 37% of your daily vitamin E needs – so convenient!
In addition, they also provide a wide range of B vitamins, zinc and essential fatty acids. A lack in any of these nutrients can be traced to hair loss. Consumption of nuts have also been correlated to a wide variety of other health benefits besides hair growth, including reduced inflammation and a lower risk of heart disease. Doesn’t this make nuts a great choice of food to consume daily or weekly? Nuts like almonds can be easily found in supermarkets or convenience stores.
In a nutshell: Nuts are loaded with nutrients such as vitamin E, B vitamins, zinc and essential fatty acids, all of which may increase hair growth and are also correlated to bring about many other health benefits.
To sum up:
There could be many more types of foods to eat that may promote hair growth and thickness, but here are the most common types of food, easy to find and to consume especially in Southeast Asia. You are what you eat – this same theory applies to your hair. Having deficiency of the essential nutrients such as vitamins A, C, D and E, zinc, B vitamins, iron, biotin, protein and essential fatty acids may slow down hair growth or even result in hair loss.
The good thing is it is inexpensive and easy to find and consume these foods to maintain a natural strong foundation to prevent hair loss and promote hair growth. Well however, if you have persistently been losing hair and these food intake have not been able to help significantly – do visit us at 5 Pahang Street and try out natural herbal hair treatment. Check out our testimonial pages to find out more about our effectiveness and transparent, affordable ala carte pricing.