A good appearance is always a confidence booster. During my nephew’s third birthday, we decided to have a barbecue. We were seated at the outdoor patio furniture when my nephew fell while trying to help his dad carry the bbq firewood. Unfortunately, he lost two teeth, and we had to visit a pediatric dentist. The teeth were deformed as they grew back, and the dentists recommended an orthodontic treatment to improve the appearance of his teeth.
It was an expensive procedure, but we had to cater for it. Similarly, we spend a lot of money on oils and lotions to ensure that we look radiant. A healthy and well-nourished body gives us the chance to radiate from the inside out. Certain vitamins, minerals, foods and supplements are recommended to be incorporated into our diet for healthy hair, skin and nail.
Factors that influence the health of our hair, skin, and nails
Our hair, skin, and nails health is influenced by biological and environmental factors. When our skin is exposed to the sun for so long without sunscreen, harmful UV lights might damage it. Biological factors such as ageing are also another influence. With age, the structure of our hair, skin, and nails are affected, which causes signs of ageing such as wrinkles, brittle nails, hair loss, and thin hair follicles.
What vitamins and minerals should be included in our diet for healthy hair, skin and nails?
For things to function seamlessly, they need proper maintenance. We take our hair to the hair salon for maintenance and call professionals for septic tank pumping and sump pumps maintenance to efficiently manage our waste treatments. Similarly, vitamins and minerals play a key role in maintaining healthy hair, skin, and nails. In addition, they support general tissue repair, metabolic health and maintenance. Before we determine which foods to eat, it’s important to understand which vitamins are needed. Here are the best vitamins and minerals that need to be in the diet for healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C shields skin from UV rays, increases collagen formation, lightens dark spots, fights free radicals that lead to wrinkles and sagging, lightens dark spots, and protects skin from sun damage.
Biotin
Biotin is also known as Vitamin B7. It is one of the most important vitamins to incorporate into your diet for healthy hair, skin and nails. It prevents hair loss and supports hair regrowth by enhancing the keratin infrastructures in the body. Moreover, it strengthens nails and supports the health of your skin. According to research, biotin supplements might result in a 25% increase in nail thickness. Deficiency of other B vitamins such as pyridoxine, B12, niacin, and riboflavin may also manifest as brittle nails, thinning hair, and dry, inflamed skin.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A stimulates the production of collagen and elastin, encourages the synthesis of proteins in the epidermal layer of the skin, and prevents collagen from oxidation and UV radiation damage. It also fades discolouration, reduces wrinkles, smooths skin, and aids in the scalp’s sebum production, giving hair a healthy, soft appearance.
Omega 3 fatty-acids
They are mostly known for their capacity to support heart and brain health, but they also offer significant advantages for maintaining healthy skin, hair, and nails. They have been shown to prevent the body against harmful UV rays and reduce acne’s appearance. In addition, they may help reduce dryness, irritation and other signs of skin irritation.
Iron
Iron is one of the best diets for healthy hair, skin, and nails. It is the protein that transports blood and tissues around the body. It enhances hair growth. Insufficient levels of iron in the body can negatively affect the appearance of hair, skin, and nails. Common signs of iron deficiency in the body include a pale complexion, hair loss and thinning, and brittle nails.
Antioxidants
Astaxanthin, one of the antioxidants, improves skin health by concentrating in the dermis, where it helps protect your body from damaging UV rays. This cellular damage can result in many issues, such as early ageing and severe inflammation. To have healthy, radiant skin, you should incorporate antioxidants into your diet.
Silicon
Silicon is a trace mineral that promotes collagen production. It has been demonstrated to enhance keratin structure to support skin firmness and may boost hair and nail thickness and strength.
Vitamin K2
Along with strengthening our bones, vitamin K2 also assists in preventing bruising and enhancing our skin health. Receiving a proper amount of vitamin K2 aids in faster healing and lessens the risk of bruising by strengthening the weak capillaries that rupture and pool blood at the skin’s surface.
What foods should be included in our diet for healthy hair, skin and nails?
All of the vitamins and minerals listed above can be obtained from food. Because vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are better absorbed from food, you are more likely to acquire what you need.
Here are some of the foods that need to be incorporated into your diet for healthy hair, skin, and nails:
Eggs
Other than being a high source of protein, eggs also provide biotin, which, as discussed above, is essential for hair growth, the strengthening of nails, and healthy skin. Eggs are complete proteins meaning they contain all the essential amino acids. Consuming enough proteins is crucial for maintaining healthy hair because hair follicles are made up of keratin protein. Therefore, a healthy diet encourages eating fried, boiled, or scrambled eggs. However, we should not take eggs in their raw form to avoid foodborne illness.
Chia seeds
Like fish, chia seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. Actually, they contain more omega-3 as compared to salmon. Therefore, they are a fantastic substitute for those who don’t eat fish. They also have a good amount of niacin, which helps our skin stay healthy.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are another source of biotin. Eating them raw is preferable to get the most biotin from each bite of mushroom. They are also a good source of vitamin D, which has been shown to enhance skin, hair, and nail health. Since vitamin D helps to create new hair follicles, lacking it can result in hair loss while obtaining enough of it can increase hair thickness. Brittle and peeling nails are another sign of vitamin D insufficiency. This is because low vitamin D levels result in abnormal calcium and phosphorus levels in the body.
Fatty fish
Seafood such as salmon is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids recommended in the diet for healthy hair, skin, and nails. They are also a great source of biotin, protein, and vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant.
Spirulina
It is advisable to add a little spirulina to your salad to receive your recommended daily intake of antioxidants. Spirulina’s antioxidants maintain collagen, preserve the connective tissues of hair follicles, and shield scalp cells, aiding skin regeneration and hair growth.
Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin A which promotes keratin production and is essential for hair, skin and nail health. Purple sweet potatoes contain anthocyanins, which have antioxidant characteristics that may reduce skin inflammation. Free radicals, which can cause accelerated ageing, can also be fought off with the aid of antioxidants.
Avocados
Avocadoes are a diet for healthy hair, skin, and nails. they are rich in vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins protect the skin from potential oxidative stress, which can affect the health of your scalp. Therefore, instead of butter on toast, we should opt for avocados.
Bells peppers
Green and yellow bell peppers are a source of vitamin C essential for producing collagen that protects the skin from free radicals. In addition. The wrinkling in the crow’s foot area can be reduced by eating green and yellow vegetables, such as bell peppers.
Chickpeas
You can enhance the appearance of your hair, skin, and nails by incorporating chickpeas into your diet. The manganese in chickpeas helps to strengthen hair, skin, and nails. Manganese is also known to help strengthen and promote hair growth while battling free radicals in the skin to lessen wrinkles. Chickpeas include protein that encourages the growth of both hair and nails.
Pineapples
Pineapples are rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is essential for maintaining healthy skin in several ways, including promoting collagen formation, decreasing the skin-damaging effects of UV radiation, and minimizing and healing scarring. In addition, pineapples contain bromelain, an enzyme that helps reduce inflammation and swelling.
Foods to avoid in your diet for healthy hair, skin, and nails
It is important to limit the intake of some foods to achieve healthy hair, skin, and nails. such food that should be consumed in moderation include:
Processed foods
Avoiding highly processed foods may lower your risk of developing skin problems. High-fat diets are linked to skin ageing. These meals may increase body inflammation, which is detrimental to our skin and nail health. Such foods include processed meat and cheese, margarine, cookies, cakes, cereals, candies, and instant noodles.
Alcohol
Alcohol is one of the beverages that should be limited in our diet for healthy hair, skin, and nails. Alcohol causes dehydration and keeps our bodies busy filtering it out, which prevents them from performing daily maintenance tasks, such as maintaining the quality of our skin and nails. Heavy drinking is also associated with facial skin ageing, such as midface volume loss, puffiness of the under eye, increased blood vessel visibility, and wrinkles.
Sweetened drinks
Sugary diets such as coffee with a lot of sugar, sweetened ice tea, soda, and juice should be limited in our diets to achieve healthy hair, skin, and nails. They are highly associated with increased skin ageing.
Other ways to achieve healthy hair, skin, and nails
While skin-care treatments such as deep treatments for hair, facial procedures, manicure, and pedicure can enhance the appearance of your hair, skin, and nails, these treatments are just enough. A healthy diet solves most of your hair, skin, and nail health needs. Here are some other ways that you can use to achieve those needs:
Eating a balanced diet
Incorporating a wide variety of whole food ingredients such as proteins, vitamins, and minerals are one of the best ways to obtain a diversity of nutrients in your diet for healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Addressing nutrition deficiencies
The deficiency of most nutrients in the body can be reflected by hair loss, thin and brittle nails, and a dull complexion. As discussed above, those nutrition deficiencies can be addressed by incorporating foods associated with healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Hydration
One of the easiest ways to support healthy skin is hydration. It is recommended to take at least eight glasses of water, equivalent to two litres, daily. Water is not the only way to boost your body’s hydration. We should also eat fruits such as watermelons, apples, peaches, strawberries, oranges, and pineapples, with high water content.
Taking supplements
Supplements can assist prevent vitamin shortages and ultimately support the maintenance of healthy skin, hair, and nails. However, we should be careful when incorporating supplements into our diet and consult our doctor first. Additionally, supplements should not be a replacement for a diet rich in healthy foods. As the name suggests, they are meant to supplement our dietary needs.
Summary
Our hair, skin, and nail health can be a little costly as it is not even included in our health insurance under the employee benefits provider. However, it should not be taken for granted.
Taking good care of our skin, hair, and nails goes beyond self-care treatments and applying expensive oils and lotions. Incorporating the right foods rich in all the discussed vitamins and minerals in your meals should be our first consideration. Hydrating and taking the right supplements are also crucial to the diet of healthy hair, skin, and nails. That said, we should also avoid and limit the intake of alcohol, processed foods, and sweetened beverages.
