Nutritional deficiencies starve hair follicles of “food” needed to grow healthy hair

Many health conditions and disorders can be traced to nutritional deficiencies.  You may have read that for every disease, there is a country where it doesn’t exist.  This is largely true and due to local diets and lifestyle.  Unfortunately, the American diet is among the worst for sustaining healthy hair.

Lack of nutrients contributes to hair loss.

For example, diets high in animal fat – especially from red meat – result in higher levels of  DHT.  Japanese researchers have noted that the hair of Japanese men was thick and healthy until large amounts of animal fat crept into their diet after World War II.  This change has led to a significant height increase in the Japanese population, but it has also resulted in more Japanese men losing hair.

While animal fat consumption has increased, consumption of fruits and raw vegetables has sharply declined. The best source of key vitamins, minerals and antioxidants is raw fruits and vegetables.  But if you are like most Americans, you only get a fraction of what you need to avoid malnutrition of the hair follicle over time.

To make mattters worse, an ongoing study from the Universtiy of Texas found that the nutrient levels in your fruits, vegetables, meats and other crops have declined dramatically in the last 50 years -  up to 80% in some cases.  This is the result of modern farming techniques and widespread use of pesticides.

On top of that, your body naturally processes nutrients from food less efficiently as you age – just when you need them the most.  So you need to consume more nutrients just to stay in the same place nutritionally. 

To grow healthy hair, your follicles need the nutrient building blocks.  In addition to protein, you need adequate amounts of B vitamins such as niacin, folic acid, biotin, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6.  Minerals critical to hair growth include iodine, zinc, copper, sulfur and silica.

Replenishing key nutrients will help you grow healthy hair and as a bonus improve your health in many other ways.

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