Three Foods Your Hair Will Thank You For Eating

Everyone is familiar with the old idiom “You are what you eat.” This couldn’t be more true of your hair; since hair is literally nothing but secreted protein coated with a healthy type of oil called sebum, your diet plays an incredibly integral role in making sure your hair is soft, silky, shiny and manageable— probably an even larger role than your fancy shampoo and conditioner play, in fact. If you want to have the best hair possible, you need to take care of your hair inside and out— and that means feeding your hair with everything it needs in order to grow and truly, truly shine. Here are just three wonder foods that can jump start your hair beauty regimen and keep you feeling as healthy, happy, and energetic as a woman in a shampoo commercial.

Wild Caught Salmon

Salmon, especially wild caught salmon lower in traditional fats and higher in nutrients and omega 3 fatty acids, is one of the best foods you can eat for your body and hair. It’s low in fat but incredibly high in protein, and rounds off its nutritional offerings with lots of B complex vitamins (which are incredibly good for hair length and strength) and iron as well. Omega 3 fatty acids are the real star of the show, however; this wonder nutrient found in high doses in salmon helps ensure your hair is full of shine and life. It also helps prevent dandruff!

Dark, Dark, Leafy Green Vegetables

The darker, the better! Eat all the kale, spinach, chard, and collards you can: these amazing little veggies are filled to the brim with vitamins A and C, which are key ingredients in sebum production. Sebum is the healthy oil your scalp produces to protect your hair and keep it strong, healthy, and full of shine. It’s nature’s original conditioner, and all of the fancy store bought conditioners in the world can’t touch it. Additionally, these leafy greens provide calcium and iron for strong hair.

The Big Surprise: Beans

One doesn’t normally think of beans as being great for your hair, but it’s true! Hair is built from protein, and beans are as well. Of course, there’s more to beans than protein: the zinc and iron available in beans and lentils help strengthen your hair, while the rare but important biotin keeps hair from becoming brittle.

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