Your body benefits from a healthy diet – and so does your hair. In fact, what you eat can have a big influence on the luster and shine of your hair. So add healthy meals into your daily hair care routine!

Protein is one nutrient that’s absolutely vital to life – and we’re getting less and less of it. Yes, there are plenty of Americans who are getting more protein than they need, but the surprising fact is that a lot of us are actually getting much less. Did you know that reasonably active person needs around 80 – 100 grams of protein daily? And that’s just to maintain the body.

Protein is also really important to hair health because it forms the basic building block of hair. You should get high-quality protein. Forget the shakes and the bars. Get your protein from meats, fish, nuts and seeds, and dairy products. These are high quality, natural protein sources that will give your hair health and body.

You also need carbohydrates for hair health, but not the carbohydrates you may think. Processed and refined grain products – in fact, any grain products (even whole grains) – are really hard to digest. Humans throughout time have solved this issue by soaking and sprouting their grains (think of traditional sourdough bread that ferments for long hours and even days before it’s cooked). So if you get your carbohydrates from grains, you should soak yours so you can get the nutrients.

You can also eat plenty of fresh vegetables and a moderate amount of fresh fruits to get carbohydrates. These are easier to digest. By choosing carbohydrates your body can digest easily you give yourself an automatic health boost. Your body isn’t damaged by nutrient particles it can’t break down, and your body can fully use all the nutrients it gets. This increases your overall health, and provides your hair with the carbohydrates it needs to assemble the proteins for hair growth.

Vitamins and minerals are very important to your health. The fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, and dairy products already mentioned will give you a rich source of the vitamins and minerals you need. But you need to be sure you’re absorbing all those nutrients by getting plenty of fat. That’s right – fat is essential to life. Not only does it increase your hair health, it nourishes your brain, too. Low fat diets starve your body, your hair, and your mind.

Don’t go for vegetable oils. These modern inventions are dangerous to your help. Traditional oils like olive oil and coconut oil are OK. Also use butter, yogurt, fish oil, and other traditional animal fats to season and flavor your foods. These fats allow your body to digest all the fat-soluble vitamins and minerals from your foods. Fats also help keep your hair healthy.

Red meat, bacon, and eggs are all great choices for hair health. They provide an abundance of protein, zinc, B vitamins, and iron. Eggs are an especially good choice because the yolk is literally packed with nutrition. Don’t throw out your egg yolk – the egg was made whole for a reason! The white will give you protein, but the nutritional powerhouse is the egg yolk.

Egg yolks can also be applied to your hair directly to give it a lot of nourishment… just rinse with cool water so you don’t end up cooking the egg!

A healthy diet will not only benefit your body, but also your hair. Brush your hair out daily and pamper it with a proper diet and you’ll notice body, volume, and shine in no time.

About the Author

Kristen has been writing articles for just over 4 years. Come visit her latest website about choosing a ring sling for baby, which helps people find the best ring slings and information they are looking for about baby carriers.