The Perfect Diet for Healthy Hair

The condition of your hair is the best proof of the phrase "garbage in, garbage out." If you constantly utilize an unhealthy diet, it will be reflected in the way that your hair looks, feels, and behaves. I have very recently become obsessed with hair after noticing how incredibly different my own hair looks after visiting a good stylist as opposed to taking care of it myself. The most important thing that I have learned is that the foods we choose to eat will play a very important role in the proper maintenance of healthy hair. Although the same can be said for skin, bones, and our health in general, this article will focus on hair.

Keratin is the backbone of each hair molecule. The backbone of keratin is protein; therefore, eating protein rich foods will go a long way to having healthy hair. It should be noted that this only goes for people with a normal and healthy scalp to begin with. If you are a male with traditional male pattern baldness, nothing in the world can grow back your hair except hair transplants. If you are interested in learning more about why this is so, click here to learn all about Androgenic Alopecia (male pattern baldness). However, if you have a normal scalp, and a generally healthy body, the rule about protein-rich foods and healthy hair remains intact.

Moisture is also essential for healthy hair. When our bodies are thirsty, it craves water to moisturize its tissues. Often when hair looks dry and brittle, or weak and limp, it needs to be watered, much as you would do for a plant. We simply cannot have a healthy head of hair if we do not drink the proper amount of water each and every day. For some (namely me), drinking huge amounts of water every day is a bit of a chore. But when one gets into the habit of drinking lots of water each day, one (namely me) will eventually come to crave it over all other liquids.

A healthy hair diet must also be supplemented with the right vitamins. Usually, a once a day multi-vitamin will do the trick, but the healthy hair super pumped, are probably taking biotin supplements as well. One word of caution, it is a common myth that taking pre-natal pills will "jump start" a healthy hair pattern. Most women believe this to be true because they remember how fast their hair grew, and how healthy their hair seemed when they were pregnant; unfortunately, pre-natal vitamins alone was probably not the main healthy hair source. Pre-natal vitamins are prescribed for pregnant women in order to make up for the extra vitamins needed for the parasitic relationship she has with her baby (did that sound too clinical and cold?). The pregnant woman needs the higher dosage of vitamins to keep her and her baby healthy; her hair is actually growing from the effects of the baby, not the pre-natal vitamins alone. Some women don't believe this and they go out and try to con some doctor into giving them pre-natal vitamins in order to make their hair grow when they aren't pregnant. This will never work because our bodies have a funny little habit of treating excess vitamins as waste material when it is not actually needed. Added to that, a true overdose of vitamins can have negative and dangerous effects on a person's body. Who wants pretty hair if it is only to be neatly fanned around our pillow while our heads lay in our coffins? Suffice it to say, do not endeavor to add huge overloads of vitamins into your diet because you think it will enhance your healthy hair regimen - and that's all that I have to say about that....

Eating protein rich foods, drinking lots of water, and taking vitamin supplements are only the very beginning steps to having a healthy hair diet. When you are really committed to your healthy hair regimen you will do things like utilizing proper styling technique, getting rid of all of those harsh hair care products that actually have an adverse effect on a healthy hair regimen, and making it a point to find a well trained hair stylist who cares as much about the health of your hair as she does about the newest styling craze (which incidentally, is probably unhealthy for your hair). A healthy diet is the foundation of healthy hair, there is nothing that one can buy on any retail shelf or from any stylist that can replace the importance of being conscious of the foods and liquids we choose to ingest.