Which Vegetables Help To Grow Strong And Healthy Hair?

Eating your vegetables helps your body grow strong, healthy hair. Treating hair problems is difficult because the surface cells that make up the hair on your head are dead, says Dr. David Leffell in "Total Skin." The magic of growing healthy hair happens under your skin, where your hair follicles make sebum and hair cells from the nutrients you provide. Some common vegetables provide extra ingredients your body can use to help build glossy, strong hair.

Leafy Greens

Your hair needs iron to produce healthy hair, according to Joannie Dobs and Alan Tichanel, nutritionists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Iron deficiency leads to hormonal conditions that result in hair thinning and loss, they wrote in an article for the "Honolulu Star-Advertiser." While spinach contains less iron than Popeye would have you believe, it's still a good vegetable source of iron, as are all dark-green, leafy vegetables. Spinach and other leafy greens also provide vitamins A and C and several B-complex nutrients, all of them necessary for healthy hair growth.

Dried Beans

Hair is, essentially, pure protein, and changes to the hair are among the first symptoms of protein deficiency, according to Dr. Arthur Fournier, author of "The Zombie Curse: A Doctor's 25-Year Journey into the Heart of the AIDS Epidemic in Haiti." If you don't give your body enough protein, it produces hair that is thin, dull and breaks easily. Pack more protein into your diet with dried beans and legumes, such as lentils, dried peas, kidney beans and navy beans.

Orange Vegetables

Your body uses vitamin A to manufacture sebum, the oil that protects and softens your hair, according to Leffell. A lack of sebum causes dry, brittle hair that breaks easily. Orange vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes and squash, are good vegetable sources of vitamin A. Orange vegetables also provide vitamin C and minerals, such as selenium and zinc, that your body needs to grow healthy, strong hair.

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers provide your body with vitamins A and C and iron, all necessary for healthy hair. Choose red peppers for the highest levels of vitamins A and C, according to the University of Maine Extension Service. Enjoy them raw, stuffed, or roasted in a melange of vegetables.