Dietary nutrients play an immense role in the vitality of your hair and skin. While most cosmetic products contain supplemental vitamins, essential oils, and other beneficial properties, your dietary nutrition is crucial in preserving your natural beauty.
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Proper Nutrition is Always the First Step to Lasting Beauty
Yes, you read correctly.
Think back before the advent of modern cosmetics – before chemically synthesized conditoners and lotions. What did women use to achieve radiant skin? How did they maintain healthy, strong hair despite harsh and unpredictable elements?
If you’ve made it this far, you already know the answer: at the most fundamental level, our natural beauty, our biology, has always stemmed from the quality of our nutrition.
It’s easy to forget that our skin and hair are living organs. Easier still to overlook how exposed they are on a daily basis to toxins, harmful UV rays, and free radicals. Just like your liver or kidneys, your hair and skin need proper nourishment (and protection!) to thrive.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Essential Nutrients For Your Skin
Water, minerals, fats, and vitamins are the gatekeepers to radiant skin. In the right amounts, each of these four ingredients link together to create a powerful foundation for enhancing your natural beauty.
Drink Lots of Water
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but adequate hydration is easily the most overlooked step for keeping skin moisturized and happy.
When properly hydrated, your body eliminates toxins from your skin more effectively, and aids in fending off unsightly complications such as eczema and acne. Drinking plenty of water also reduces eye inflammation and red, splotchy skin. Win-win, right?
Your Skin Needs Minerals
Iron and zinc are crucial for repairing damaged skin tissue. Not only do they heal and restore, these powerful minerals also help protect your skin from sun damage and pollution. Iron and zinc are also arguably the most essential minerals for healthy hair. Iron helps transport nutrients and oxygen to your roots and follicles, ensuring stronger, more resilient strands, while zinc (in proper amount) helps prevent hair loss.
Another essential mineral is copper, which has been shown to stimulate healing by encouraging the production of collagen. And collagen, in turn, prevents the onset of premature wrinkles by keeping your skin supple and firm.
Honey, kelp, cocoa, keratin, flax seeds, and leafy greens are among many rich sources of these minerals worth keeping an eye out for.
Opt for Healthy Fats
Fats of any kind tend to get a bad rep, but the truth is unsaturated fats are also vital for maintaining healthy skin.
Omega-3 fatty acids help promote skin nourishment and a fresh, toned appearance. Another chain worth mentioning are omega-6 fatty acids, which are the building blocks of healthy skin cells – these potent acids prevent itchy, flaky skin attributed to excessive dryness.
To incorporate these vital fats into your dietary intake, look for organic avocados, walnuts, flaxseed oil, and fish oil.
Take Your Vitamins
Vitamin B complex are crucial for metabolizing nutrition from our food sources. Vitamin B12 has been shown to help regulate pigment production in your skin, vitamin B3 and B5 are used to improve the severity of skin conditions, such as acne – and when combined with citrus powerhouse Vitamin C, Vitamin B5 also speeds up the recovery of skin wounds!
Vitamin E helps counter the effects of prolonged sun explosure, providing protection against free radicals and air pollution. Vitamin E is an antioxidant found only in dietary supplements which reduces inflammation, repairs damaged follicles, and protects your hair from external toxins such as pollution or prolonged exposure to UV rays.
Vitamin A stimulates fibroblasts (cells responsible for maintaining skin firmness) and encourages production of retinal, retinol, and retinoic acid, which are important for healthy skin cell production.
Biotin, otherwise known as vitamin B7, has been shown to have a promising effect on boosting follicle strength and preventing hair loss. This water-soluble vitamin is frequently referred to as the “H” vitamin, for its hair and skin enhancing properties
Vitamin C (everyone’s favorite vitamin) is another indispensable antioxidant that boosts the absorption of iron and production of collagen, strengthening your hair capillaries.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Essential Dietary Nutrients For Your Hair
Much like your skin, your hair’s texture, shine, and strength are all directly correlated with your health.
Protein, Protein, Protein
Protein is the building block for stronger, healthier hair in a number of ways.
Protein strengthens your hairs cortex, effectively reducing split ends and improving overall appearance. Protein also contributes to smoother cuticles, giving a silkier feel and vibrant shine. And let’s not forget, protein (keratin, in particular) contributes to your hair volume and texture!
Some everyday proteins to incorporate into your diet are: whole eggs, almonds, chicken breast, oats, broccoli, quinoa, and wild caught fish!
And More Healthy Fats
Omega-3 fatty acids are just as essential for a fabulous hair as they are for a flawless skin.
These fatty acid chains promote hair elasticity (think “bounciness” in curls), adds to your hairs natural sheen, and encourages the production of necessary oils in your scalp.
The problem though, is that omega-3 acids aren’t naturally produced by our bodies, which means in order to reap these amazing benefits, you need to be proactive in incorporating them into your diet.
Flaxseeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and oily fish (ie: mackerel, sardines) are great sources of omega-3’s, and can oftentimes be found in your local grocery store.
Even More Minerals
Magnesium is another trace mineral that has been shown to have a key role by positively impacting thyroid function and metabolism, two critical components for maintaining strong hair.
Another lesser known mineral that can help prevent hair loss is selenium, a powerful antioxidant that supports key functions of several organs, resulting in reduced dandruff and a healthier scalp.
Some great sources of these minerals can be found in egg yolks, turkey, spinach, lentils, and – wait for it – chocolate![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
How Dietary Nutrients Impact Your Skin and Hair
Keeps Skin Moisturized
Foods like coconut, oranges, cucumbers, and pineapples which have high water content help keep your skin hydrated, fresh, and moisturized around the clock.
Keeps You Looking Ever Young
Taking good foods with high nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids nourish your skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and also combat aging so you look ever younger. You empower yourself to a more supple, hydrated, elastic, softer and healthy skin.
Guarantees Healthy Hair
Diets which are rich in protein like egg, milk, beans, yogurt, and seafood will boost the protein content in your body and promote healthy hair.
No More Hair Breakage
With optimal hydration, protein, minerals like zinc and iron you can say goodbye to hair breakage for good.
More Volume at Last
Good dietary nutrients are essential to hair growth and add volume to your hair. Empower yourself to a healthier, bouncier, more lustrous and voluminous hair!
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
