What you need to eat for healthy hair

Rich in zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids, nuts help keep the scalp and hair healthy. Source: naomii.tumblr.com/Flickr

Just like skin health, the condition of your hair greatly depends on what goes in your body. For hair to remain healthy and luscious, a regular supply of essential nutrients like minerals and vitamins is absolutely vital. A deficiency of these nutrients in the diet can cause a host of problems including excessive hair fall, split ends, brittle, limp hair. To keep these at bay, we’ve got a handy list of foods to include in your diet:

Eggs
Protein is one of the key ingredients for excellent hair health. Low amounts of protein in the diet can cause damage to the texture of your hair, leaving it dry and prone to breakage. Eggs are one of the widely available protein sources that are extremely easy to cook. If you aren’t the kind to cook up something elaborate, simply boiling an egg or two for breakfast would do the trick. And if you have a few minutes to spare on the weekend, here’s a quick, delicious recipe of the shakshouka, a Middle Eastern egg dish:

Sweet Potatoes
Apart from being rich in fibre, sweet potatoes also contain high amounts of beta carotenes, that ultimately get converted to vitamin A in the body. The primary role of vitamin A is to supplement cell growth, including that of hair. A diet rich in beta carotene can go a long way in keeping your hair strong and healthy. They also are a good source of vitamin C which serves as an antioxidant and helps increase iron absorption. Sweet potatoes have a naturally sweet taste and make for a wonderful snack – simply boil, cut into cubes and salt. Or you could give into your craving for fries in a healthy way with these sweet potato fries instead:

Lentils
Lentils are a wonderful source of proteins, zinc, biotin and iron. A diet rich in zinc helps keep the scalp healthy, which means you won’t be complaining of a flaky scalp or have to worry about dandruff. Lentils also form a part of a balanced diet and go a long way in maintaining overall health. If you don’t prefer to have lentils as a soup, or as dal, give this salad a go:

Nuts
Walnuts, groundnuts, almonds, pistachios are rich in selenium which further helps keep the scalp healthy and well-nourished. They are also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which the body cannot make and must be supplied through food. Foods rich in these fatty acids help in the upkeep of the cells lining the scalp, to keep the scalp and hair well-hydrated. You can always have a handful of nuts anytime of the day, but we think they taste rather great when spiced. Watch the video to learn how: