The first noticeable part of a women’s beauty is her hair. It enhances her appearance, personality and sets the tone for one’s entire look. A bad hair day is not less than a bad day. Strong & healthy hair that makes you beautiful, adds to your overall look, and enhances your confidence level.
Do you know how food is connected with your hair and have a robust relation too?
We’ve often heard ‘GOOD FOOD IS GOOD MOOD’! But is it just about the mood or beyond that? Food is something that not only makes the spirit happy but provides essential nutrients. The importance of food is so apparent and so crucial. Be it be our mental or social well-being, food is directly related to our body. Strengthening the body and providing all the nutrients is what food and water do mainly for us.
On the other hand, the food that we eat nowadays does not have nutritional values. Such food leads to health issues, sometimes minor and at times major ones. Therefore we need to choose our food wisely. Food that we eat should be healthy and balanced to provide enough nutritional value to our body.
The intake of an adequate amount of protein is essential for your hair growth. A protein-rich diet is necessary for nourishing and strengthening the hair inside out. The protein in the diet helps produce keratin; however, hair strands are more prone to breakage when there’s weaken keratin. Simultaneously, both deficiency and excess of specific food intake can result in the loss of your hair.
Losing hair is undoubtedly one of our worst fears, and rather than using expensive chemical bases products, it’s better and recommended to add a protein-rich diet to your everyday. These can include, chicken, eggs, mutton, fish, etc and for vegetarians, we have listed a few healthy options here:
Here are 10 vegetarian foods for hair growth
1. Spinach
This green, leafy vegetable can do wonders for your hair. It is packed up with all the required nutrients and is extremely rich in antioxidants. From vitamin K, C, A, B2, B6, B1, E to manganese, zinc, iron, and omega fatty acids, spinach have it all. These nutrients not only help nourish your scalp and hair but also ensures healthy hair growth too.
A small cup (approx 30-40 gms) of spinach fulfills up to 54% of the daily vitamin A requirements. Being a rich and excellent source of iron that is a must for hair growth helps red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body, fueling your metabolism, and enabling hair growth and repair.
You can also use/eat Spinach in other forms, such us:
Spinach Hair Pack
What do you need?
A few spinach leaves
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive/ castor/ coconut oil
What is the Process?
Put all the ingredients in the blender until you get a fine, smooth paste.
Apply the paste all over your hair length including the scalp.
Leave it for 30 mins to 1 hour and then wash it with cold water.
Repeat this process twice a week for significant results: The pack would smoothen your hair and improve circulation to boost your hair growth.
Spinach Smoothie
Spinach smoothie might not taste that great, but it would surely do wonders for your hair growth.
What do you need?
Large ripe banana
A few spinach leaves
A cup of papaya
Almond/coconut/soy milk
(any other fruit/dry fruits of your choice)
What is the Process?
Blend all of the above ingredients until you get a smooth mixture and have this smoothie with breakfast every morning.
Let’s Go Green! 🥬
2. Chia Seeds
Chia, it’s a Mayan word for “strength.” The intake of chia seeds in our day to day life can be effortless and beneficial too.
You can easily find these seeds in your local grocery stores and supermarkets at a very fair price. They accompany a vast number of ingredients without affecting their original taste or texture. These seeds are native to Mexico and surprisingly very rich in fiber, omega three fatty acids, protein, phosphorus, calcium, and hence extremely beneficial for more robust and healthier skin, body and hair.
Chia seeds have no taste and odor; they’re entirely flavorless, but has great benefits.
How do we intake Chia Seeds?
We can add 1/4th cup of these seeds to yogurt topped off with freshly cut fruits, apple, strawberries, banana for a refreshing morning snack.
Sprinkle the chia seeds on a freshly toasted peanut butter sandwich.
Blend chia seeds into your favorite smoothie or juice of your choice.
Let’s sprinkle some chia in our lives!
3. Soybeans
Soybeans are the excellent source of plant-based protein. It belongs to the pea family. Adding them to your diet will provide more protein to the hair follicles and help them grow and stay healthier. According to recent studies, soy could help with hair loss issues. Apart from keeping the hair healthy and robust, it also makes them shiny and lustrous.
Here’s what this ingredient does to your hair:
Nourishment
It’s incredibly beneficial for dull and damaged hair. Soy oil helps to keep the hair naturally pretty and non sticky.
Hair Growth
We can use the seed extracts for many hair growth treatments.
Prevents baldness
Are you suffering from spot/patch baldness? Soybean oil is again the most appropriate and the perfect ingredient. It encourages new growth of hair follicles.
Improves texture
The soy extracts are used widely in commercial hair care products. It helps improve texture.
By including more and more soybean in the day-to-day diet and mixing a few drops of the soy oil into any of the essential oils, and massaging the scalp gently, it will enhance the blood flow through the whole scalp would trigger the growth of hair.
4. Sweet Potato
Boil them, steam them, roast them, or fry them, but you must include this superfood in your everyday routine for hair growth. This root vegetable is rich in different nutrients, including vitamin C, Vitamin B, potassium, zinc, and many other minerals. These nutrients give unique benefits to your hair and are good sources of nutrients that help in hair growth. They provide a tremendous amount of nourishment to your thirsty hair strands.
5. Yogurt
Yogurt is packed with proteins that help in blood flow to your scalp and hair growth. It is also rich in vitamin B5 and helps against thinning hair and hair loss. It has lactic acid that acts amazingly for cleansing the scalp and removing the dead skin cells to help your hair regrow. It also has nourishment and smoothening properties.
Eating yogurt with multiple add ons such as chia seeds, nuts, fruits, and berries would be beneficial, but one of the most popular direct applications is the hair mask.
Here we’ve different mask recipes for different hair types:
For Damaged Hair: Make a fine paste by blending yogurt, strawberries, coconut oil.
For Dandruff Hair: Mix yogurt, honey, and lemon nicely to make a paste and apply it directly to moisturize your scalp.
For Dry Hair: Add honey to yogurt to soften and hydrate your hair.
For Dull Hair: Add yogurt, honey, and a few drops of coconut oil for soft and shiny hair!
For Frizzy Hair: Mash some riped bananas, add yogurt and honey to treat your hair’s moisture, volume, and hydration.
For Greasy Hair: Mix yogurt, lemon, and half a tsp of baking soda to degrease your scalp and balance the ph level.
For Thinning Hair: Adding yogurt with some fresh aloe vera gel will nourish and clear your hair follicles.
For Weak Hair: Add a few drops of olive oil and soybean oil to yogurt for smooth and shiny hair.
6. Avocado
It’s a great source of BIOTIN and vitamin B complex. Adding it to your diet may help your hair grow healthier and robust.
A study in 2015 proved that the nutrients and minerals in avocado oil that also include potassium and magnesium would help seal cuticle cells that allow your hair to look smooth, shiny and to prevent it from breaking. If applied directly in hair mask form, avocado will nourish, moisturize, and strengthen the hair strands.
You can also mix a few drops of peppermint or lavender essential oil into Avacado oil for an effective homemade treatment. It will help unclog blocked follicles.
It also includes vitamin D, which is very necessary for the generation of new hair follicles. Using it throughout will encourage hair growth. Adding aloe gel, banana, oatmeal, yogurt, etc to mashed avocado can easily prepare different hair masks at home.
However, applying direct avocado would be beneficial, but adding it to your daily diet in the form of some smoothie or avocado toast can be of great benefit to strengthen your hair.
7. Seeds
A Few calories and a massive amount of nutrients are what seeds provide us.
Nutrients like zinc, vitamin E promote hair growth, and thus sources are another beneficial food item for hair growth. Nearly 30 gms of sunflower seeds provide around 50% of your daily vitamin E. Certain seeds like flax seeds provide omega-three fatty acids. However, to get a large variety of nutrients to grow your hair faster and more robust, it’s best to consume a mixture of seeds.
8. Nuts
Nuts are rich in protein and zinc and help make your hair strong, shiny, and healthy.
Close up of a girls hands eating nuts
The good nuts that you should add to your daily diets are walnuts and almonds. Almonds promote blood flow and thus result in hair growth. It helps your hair to be lustrous and soft. Walnuts are indeed a great source of hair-friendly nutrients. Not only useful in taste and convenience but full of benefits to your health and hair.
9. Orange
A great source of vitamin C and bio-flavonoids result in proper circulation for the scalp and help promote hair growth.
You can consume oranges in any form, be it by eating it directly or in the form of juice, it will boost the intake of deserved nutrients and result in hair growth.
However, you can also use a hair pack of mashed orange peel. It helps to nourish, condition your hair and reduce dandruff.
10. Pumpkin
Pumpkin, being a rich source of minerals, including zinc and potassium, not only helps in keeping hair healthy but also promotes regrowth of your hair. Zinc encourages collagen production, which results in stimulating dying hair follicles.
Conclusion
So, being a vegetarian, make sure that you’re getting the adequate amount of proteins and other hair-friendly nutrients to grow and re-grow your hair, stronger and healthier. Add the above-mentioned food to your diet. However, if you think you’re witnessing some unusual or sudden hair loss, do consult your dermatologist at the earliest!
