Healthy Curls

You are what you eat and so are your curls.

All hair benefits immensely from good nutrition. The health and radiance of your curls can be directly linked to your diet, says Esther Blum, RD, a New York- based registered dietician, holistic nutritionist, and author of Eat, drink and be Gorgeous: A Nutritionist's Guide to Living well While Living it up. "in general, the diet for healthy hair is the diet for longevity," she says.

Specifically, she recommends that you eat your protein. Since hair is 97 percent protein, you need this nutrient to help it grow and stay healthy. Just 2 to 3 ounces of protein three times per day is enough for the average person and 6 ounces three times per day if you're very physically active. Your healthiest bet is to eat free range organic protein because it doesn't contain hormones or antibiotics and, if possible, to eat meat from animals that are grass-fed.

including healthy fats in your diet is important for shiny, thick locks. One of the first things you notice when a person has anorexia is dull, lifeless, thinning hair. Healthy fats keep your scalp hydrated, leaving your hair looking lush and shinny. 

Healthy fats include omega -3 essential fatty acids, which can be found in foods like avocado, ground flax seeds, flax seed oil, coconut oil, salmon, sardines, egg yolks, spinach and walnuts, and include monounsaturated fats in olives, olive oil, and nuts such as almonds and cashews. Trace minerals like zinc, magnesium, and selenium may help thinning hair or hair loss. You'll find them in raw nuts like almonds, walnuts, and cashews, seeds like pumpkin seeds, whole grains like brown rice, beans and oats.

To keep hair from thinning, be sure to get enough iron, which is plentiful in beef, turkey, eggs, and beans, and hyaluronic acid, which is found in chicken stock made from chicken bones.

curly girl. The Handbook by Lorraine Massey