Nutrients And Vitamins For Hair Growth

Certain nutrients and vitamins can help nourish hair follicles and promote normal cellular activity in your skin to aid in hair growth. Eating plenty of whole grains, dark leafy greens, fruits and vegetables supports hair growth. The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends limiting coffee, tobacco and trans fatty acids. Drinking six to eight glasses of filtered water per day also supports hair growth. Discuss nutrition and hair growth with your doctor, and get her approval before making any drastic changes to your diet or taking supplements of any kind.

Vitamins

Antioxidant vitamins and B-complex vitamins support healthy hair growth. Vitamin C is an antioxidant vitamin that is essential for collagen production, which maintains tissues throughout your body. Hair loss is a symptom of diminished collagen production that results from vitamin C deficiencies. Vitamin C also supports circulation to your hair follicles by maintaining your blood vessels, Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute explains. Vitamin B deficiencies can reduce cell division and growth in hair follicles and cause hair loss or graying hair. Vitamin E, meanwhile, promotes healthy skin and hair growth by strengthening cell membranes in your hair follicles. Consult your doctor before taking vitamins or any kind of supplements.

Minerals

A variety of minerals promote hair growth. Calcium transports and releases hormones and enzymes that affect almost every function in your body, including hair growth. Calcium stimulates cell-mediator molecules that act on the hair follicle. Zinc supports normal hair follicle cell division. Selenium deficiencies, meanwhile, can cause poor hair growth. Dr. Leonid Trost and colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation believe that treating iron deficiencies enhances hair loss treatments, they wrote in research published in 2006 in the "Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology." Sulfur is a mineral that supports healthy hair growth by strengthening your hair. Consult your doctor before taking minerals or supplements of any kind.

Amino Acids

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins in your body, and particular amino acids support healthy hair growth. L-methionine supports the growth of strong hair by supplying sulfur to hair cells. Skin, nails, and hair are high in L-cysteine, which also supplies sulfur to hair cells. Increasing the amount of L-cysteine in your diet boosts concentrations of high-sulfur proteins in your hair, Gene Bruno reports for the Huntington College of Health Sciences. L-lysine is an amino acid that might help reduce hair shedding, particularly in women.

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids maintain your hair and your skin. They also help your body absorb and move vitamins that support hair growth through your blood stream, including the antioxidant vitamins A and C. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are particularly important for hair growth. A diet that contains a healthy balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids stimulates skin and hair growth. The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends that omega-6 fats make up two to four times the amount of omega-3 in your diet.