Diet and Foods which Prevent Hair Loss and Promote Hair Growth.

 A Healthy Diet, to Promote Hair Growth and stop hair loss, is required,  which will have ingredients that will specifically stop hair falling out and promote growth of hair. This is because growth of new hair and stopping premature fall of hair depends on the  nutrition  which the scalp receives. You must, therefore ensure  that  you  are  eating  foods which  are necessary  to prevent hair  fall. The necessary nutrients and their food  sources which will prevent hair fall and can be part of the remedy for hair loss and are explained below.

What foods are necessary to prevent hair  loss.

1. Proteins to Prevent Hair Loss. Hair is made up of keratin which is a type of protein. Having adequate proteins in your diet is therefore necessary. Food sources of proteins: Soya beans, Fish, chicken, eggs, almonds, beans, low fat cheese and yogurt, milk, whole grains, unpolished rice, legumes, peanuts and peas.
2. Iron to Prevent Hair Fall. Oxygen is carried by the blood to the different parts of the body, including your scalp, with the help of haemoglobin  present in it. Haemoglobin is an iron containing protein  which is present in the red blood cells. Blood that has rich levels of haemoglobin, therefore will be able to carry more oxygen and nutrition to the various parts of the body. And to have rich haemoglobin content in blood,  adequate supply of iron to the body is necessary through your diet. Food sources of Iron: raisins (dried grapes), green leafy vegetables, eggs, dates, whole grain cereals, pulses and beans, sea vegetables, fish and red meat.
3. Vitamin C to stop hair fall is required to prevent hair loss because it helps in the absorption of iron. Food sources of Vitamin C: Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Grapes, Guava, Strawberry, Peppers, Spring greens.
4. Vitamin E is a good anti oxidant which also helps in proper circulation of blood to the scalp. It helps in proper uptake of oxygen by the blood, and the blood supply to scalp and  other tissues is rich in oxygen. This prevents hair fall and promotes growth of hair.  Food Sources of Vitamin E: Eggs, Green leafy vegetables, soya beans, whole wheat and cereals, nuts, dried beans, broccoli, spinach.
5. Silica helps stopping hair fall because it stimulates cell metabolism and new cell formation in the body including that in the scalp. It also helps in absorption of vitamins and minerals which helps in hair growth. Food sources of Silica: Skin of potato and cucumber, peppers(red and green), bean sprouts,  brown rice, onions, cabbage, oats, asparagus, lettuce, strawberry, cauliflower.
6. Calcium is required for hair growth. Falls in calcium levels leads to hair fall. Eating too much sugar leads to  high levels of insulin in the blood, causing  calcium  to be drawn from the bones. This leads to drop in calcium levels in the blood. Magnesium is available from many sources and its levels rarely falls. Fall in calcium levels has to be avoided to prevent hair loss and to maintain the balance between calcium and magnesium levels. Food sources of Calcium: Milk and milk products, whole grains and cereals, fish, green leafy vegetables, drumstick, beetroot greens, curry leaves, turnips greens, fenugreek leaves, cloves, coriander, mustard seeds, asafetida (hing).
7. Zinc promotes the function of the sebaceous glands to produce sebum. Sebum helps the conditioning of the scalp and this also helps to prevent dandruff. Zinc  keeps the hair shaft strong and prevents it from breaking. Zinc promotes protein synthesis and formation of collagen. However, care is to be taken to see that excess zinc is not consumed as  this  will cause deficiency of iron, magnesium and copper which are necessary for hair growth. Therefore though your diet can be rich in zinc, you must avoid zinc supplements. Calcium also inhibits absorption of zinc. Therefore avoid calcium supplements with a zinc rich diet unless other medical reasons warrant it. Zinc also binds itself with the high fiber in the diet and can be excreted from the body without being absorbed. Foods rich in Zinc: Oysters, shellfish, wheat bran, wheat germ, whole cereals, nuts, brewers yeast.
8. Iodine promotes hair growth. Though your table salt has iodine added to it, it will not help much as that salt is synthetic and it is not digested well. Have instead a diet containing iodine. Food sources of iodine: Seaweeds, salmon, molasses, beans, eggs, garlic, potato with skin.
9. Essential fatty acids have anti inflammatory properties and are not manufactured by the body. They have to be derived from your diet. Low levels of EFAs cause quicker loss of hair. Foods sources of EFAs: Salmon, sardines and mackerel, flax seeds, walnuts, cabbage, cauliflower.
10. Drink plenty of water. Its benefits are explained in Benefits of Drinking Water.

What foods you must avoid to stop hair loss:

1. • Avoid Fats because  higher levels of fats increase testosterone levels which cause hair loss.
   • Avoid consuming too much sugar as increased sugar levels cause increase levels of insulin. As a result, there is increased requirement of calcium  which is drawn from the bones. This results in imbalance between calcium and  magnesium  levels which causes hair fall. (explained above).

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