Food/Supplements for Hair

[HazelBug]

Is there a thread devoted to supliments/suplimenting/dietary changes for hair? Basically one for whatever people might ingest to improve hair quality or growth? I'm pretty interested in how diet and nutrition can affect hair quality. I've noticed a mention here and there about biotin or vitimins. I've heard some about protiens. Can we discuss different supliments or food changes that helped your hair quality and/or growth rate?

[Faelin]

I am curious about this as well. I've been told to take prenatal vitamins, vitamin C (but I know that's for immunity), and Biotin. I actually take prenatal vitamins, vitamin C (recommend for me by my doctor anyway cause of health issues), and vitamin B...when I can, here lately I've been taking less because recently was put on a new medication and can't take vitamins or any supplements until 4 hours later, which by that time I forget lol.

Anyway if anyone can point in the right direction about supplements/vitamins, that would be cool xD

[jeanniet]

If you have health issues, it's really important not to take vitamins or supplements without consulting your doctor or dietician. There can be all kinds of drug interactions. In fact, IMO unless you have a specific health reason, it's better to work on improving your diet rather than taking supplements. In particular, eat more veggies and greens. Most people don't eat nearly enough of those. And it's possible to have undiagnosed health issues that can be negatively impacted by supplements as well.

[Nadine <3]

I heard protein is great for hair...I eat a lot of eggs. Not sure if it helps my hair, but I like eggs lol I'm curious about this as well. I'm assuming just having a well balanced, healthy diet would be a good place to start.

[HazelBug]

I heard protein is great for hair...I eat a lot of eggs. Not sure if it helps my hair, but I like eggs lol I'm curious about this as well. I'm assuming just having a well balanced, healthy diet would be a good place to start.

I noticed that if I feed my cat eggs he gets a shinier coat. Unfortunately I'm egg intolerant and can only handle very small ammounts. But I've been trying to get protiens in other ways. I'm sort of on and off with pre-natals since I'm pregnant but too nauseated to get them down most of the time. I'm so interested in nutrition! It's fun to find out what helpful things are in different foods!

[clioariane]

I take a women's multivitamin (Centrum) and eat a lot of avocado & coconut oil (fats), eggs (protein) and vegetables. I used to take fish oil and Viviscal as well. Don't forget to drink enough water!

[Firefox7275]

Most people posting on LHC have no qualifications in healthcare whatsoever, and a shocking number do wholly inadequate research into the risks and efficacy. Even those of us that do hold appropriate qualifications don't have access to your medical notes, detailed diet diary or other pertinent facts.

Consistently eat a nutrient dense, balanced and varied wholefood diet: I can't honestly remember the last time I saw a new nutrition client who did this. Consider your intake of wholefoods like oily fish, seeds, organ meats, shellfish such as molluscs, beans and lentils. Consider also processed foods: if it has an ingredients list or doesn't look much as it did when it came off the plant or animal it is processed. Cook from scratch.

Speak to a suitably qualified health professional about supplements (registered dietician, fitness professional who has studied nutrition at degree level, etc). Understand that micronutrients work synergistically and in opposition, you can easily worsen imbalances with random supplementation. Biotin is found in numerous foods, its not 'rare' like long chain omega-3s and bioavailable vitamin D are.

[shutterpillar]

If you have health issues, it's really important not to take vitamins or supplements without consulting your doctor or dietician. There can be all kinds of drug interactions. In fact, IMO unless you have a specific health reason, it's better to work on improving your diet rather than taking supplements. In particular, eat more veggies and greens. Most people don't eat nearly enough of those. And it's possible to have undiagnosed health issues that can be negatively impacted by supplements as well.

I'm going to second this entire post. Never start anything without discussing it with your practitioner first. :) I've had to swap around my vitamins in the past because they interacted negatively with a medication I used to take.
You can also overdose on supplements, which is why it's important to consult your doctor first to discuss proper dosage.

[shutterpillar]

I just saw that you mentioned in a reply that you were pregnant - in that case, definitely do not begin taking anything without talking to your obstetrician first!! Maybe discuss healthy food options with him/her during your next visit. :)