Journey Guest 01 - Your Hair is What You Eat

NOTE: While my idea for this Blog was to personally write each of the entries, I’m still relatively a newbie concerning certain “tricks of the trade”. I realize eating healthy promotes well-being for every part of the human body, how it specifically affects hair health is a bit beyond my “expertise” at the moment. That being the case, here is a lovely article that goes to show, it’s not just what you put on your hair that counts when making the step towards strong and beautiful locks. It’s what you put in your body as well.

Eat Well For Strong Hair

By Leah Salmon From Davidel

Ever heard of the saying beauty is only skin deep? Well on many levels this is true, but did you know that a good diet of clean healthy foods is not only good for your insides, but can also do wonders for your skin and hair too.

There are so many products available to put on to our hair that promise to do everything from rebuild dead hair, make dull hair more shiny and totally eliminate a dry flaky scalp. However, what is important to remember is that our hair grows from within our body’s and is literally grown from the foods we eat. So if you eat rubbish, guess how your hair is going to look and feel, that’s right, like RUBBISH!

Here are my top 7 tips for strong healthy hair

• Drink more water – Dehydration contributes to literally every disease conditions in the body including dry lifeless skin and hair. The cells in your skin, hair and scalp need ample water to kept them plump and active and a dry body leads to dry hair and scalp. So simply drink more water, at least 6-8 glasses a day.
• Cut the junk – Junk food is full of sugar (there’s even sugar in a Mc Donald’s salad), saturated fats and high levels of demineralised salts. These all produce toxins which your body has to work hard to eliminate. Some of these toxins will come out of your scalp causing very greasy or very dry hair. Heavy sugar intake can lead to a Candida infection which appears on the scalp as flakes and also drains vital minerals from our body which are needed for hair growth. Junk food is also void of nutrients so your body will take nutrients away from growing your hair to process this nutrient dead food.
• Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables – These have high quantities of the vitamins and minerals which promote hair growth, strength and health listed below, they help cleanse your body of toxins which may hinder your scalp and they are a good source of water.
• Increase your intake of the following vitamins and minerals which are all involved in hair growth and health: Vitamin A & B Complex including Biotin and Folic Acid, Choline Bartrate, iron, copper, iodine, selenium, zinc and manganese.
• Be friends with fats – Essential fatty acids are the cornerstone of healthy hair, they promote hair growth, keep the scalp nourished therefore preventing dry flaky scalp, aid hormone function which affects hair growth, balding etc and assist your body in using all the other vitamins and minerals needed for healthy skin and hair.
• Less is more – Piling 10 different products onto your hair every morning is like performing a science experiment on your self. Individually they may be fine, but in combination, you don’t know what chemicals you have created to put on your hair and scalp. Remember, what goes on your hair will get into your scalp and then into your blood stream. Be careful.
• Go back to nature – plants and herbs that have been used by our ancestor for ages are normally best for our hair and in their whole unprocessed state they are nutrient rich and more nourishing for our hair and scalp. So if you are going to use hair products, try these, one at a time or in combination if brought from a reliable company: shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil and carrot oil for starters. The essential aromatherapy oils Tea tree, lavender, rosemary are useful to hair also, but ensure you dilute them in a carrier oil before use on hair, scalp and skin.

As well as science to back these tips up with, there are many people who testify to the difference felt in their hair and from slight changes in their diet, One of the first things I noticed when I was changing to a healthier diet was that by cutting out sugar and saturated fats, my scalp wasn’t dry and flaky all the time and I didn’t need to wash it every 3 days. The simplest things seem to make the most difference so remember, more water, healthy food, friendly oils, supplements and less junk.

So your beauty can really start from deep within.

~@~

Leah Salmon of Davidel has practiced and studied nutritional therapy and herbal medicines for over 8 years, she writes articles for magazines, Ezines and also teaches on natural healthcare for the family. For more information on natural healthcare visit www.davidel.com or email with any queries or advice

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Did you find this article useful? Be sure to drop a note to Ms. Salmon at info@leahsalmon.com.

NOTE: I discovered this gem of an article on Tytecurl.com