No matter what reason you have for your vegetarian diet, you want to make sure that your hair is strong, especially if you’re experiencing hair loss. Many women and some men, too, experience hair thinning when they’re going through hormonal changes.
Not sure that your vegetarianism can affect your hair? Well, think again. Research shows that prior to a vegetarian diet, many women have a higher-fat diet, which is associated with poor health in general. Higher fat diets cause the body to store more estrogen in its fat cells, which research also shows links to forms of cancer, especially breast cancer.
One type of hair loss that can definitely occur for vegetarians is when they first convert their diet. When meat is dropped from the diet, estrogen levels drop dramatically, according to the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine. This is great news for your health, and your body will ultimately thank you! Unfortunately, a hormonal crash will also lead to hair loss. This hair loss is temporary, and your hair usually resumes its growth cycle within a few months.
If you continue to have hormonal problems and hair thinning as a vegetarian, you may wonder if diet has anything to do with it. The answer could be yes or no – there are a lot of factors that can contribute to hair loss. On the flip side of this question, your diet can absolutely affect your body’s ability to respond to hair loss – and create new growth.
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What is the Best Vegetarian Diet for Hair Growth?
If you are suffering from hair loss or thin hair, it’s time to take matters into your own hands. Your diet can make all the difference in how your hair cycle operates and your body’s circulation, which helps stimulate hair glands, according to research from Massachusetts General Hospital. With the right foods in your diet, you have the change to laser-focus your efforts on the foods that help stimulate cell regeneration and grow thick, healthy hair
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a vegetarian diet is one of the healthiest when it comes to restoring hair (and skin as well). If you’re a vegetarian struggling with thin hair, you need to take a look at your diet. Are you really get the nutrients you need?
Biotin is one vitamin that’s rarely mentioned but is essential to hair, skin and nail growth and strength.
Vegetarian Foods that Promote Circulation
According to Reader’s Digest, there are a lot of vegetarian foods that improve circulation and it’s easy to add them to your daily diet. Improving circulation helps to revitalize hair follicles and stimulate them for new growth. Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular foods. Make sure you get 1-3 of them daily. It’s important to be religious about consuming some of these foods. These lifestyle changes can help you take charge of your hair health.
- Dark Chocolate: Chocolate is known to work as a blood thinner and has been recommended by doctors for years. One reason for this ability is nitric oxide, which plays which helps promote cardiovascular health. Can you commit to eating one small block of chocolate for dessert at the end of your day, every day?
- Turmeric: This spice is most abundant in curry dishes, which you should try to have once to twice a week. Studies show that turmeric also reduces inflammation in the body.
- Garlic: 2-3 cloves daily can help improve circulation and prevent clogged arteries. A small serving of pasta and a sauce with heavily roasted garlic with a meal could be the answer, although health gurus swear it’s best to eat them raw.
- Celery or Spinach: Celery has a lot of vitamin K, which is an essential nutrient for healthy blood flow and clotting.
Vegetarian Food for Hair Growth: What You Need
Our bodies need certain nutrients to nurture our hair, skin and nails, which all rely on the same basic vitamins for health. Experts agree that the most essential nutrient to these systems is protein, which some vegetarians don’t get quite enough of.
Biotin, B vitamins, and other vitamins also play a vital part in hair health and growth, and there are plenty of foods that you can eat that will help achieve the right servings for your health. Let’s take a look at a few of these nutrients and their sources.
- Protein: As a vegetarian, you still have a lot of options for protein, but fish are always a great bet for more than one reason. First, they’re a lean protein that helps build muscle. Salmon and tuna provide nutrients that help your body regenerate. The omega-3 fatty acids in seafood are also essential to hair and skin. You can really only get these nutrients from the food you eat, so adding a healthy serving to your diet twice a week to improve your hair, skin and nails. Nuts are also a good source of healthy protein.
- Vitamins: Biotin is one of the most important vitamins when it comes to promoting hair growth. You can get the biotin your body needs from a variety of natural, vegan foods such as eggs, milk, whole grains, almonds, nuts, and legumes.
Setting & Keeping to a Hair-Health Vegetarian Diet
Sticking to a diet that emphasizes health is easier than you think. Let’s be honest – you may be on a vegetarian diet, but for many vegetarians, that still means processed food like realistic-looking veggie burgers and vegetarian pizza.
Make sure to make the effort of writing down the foods you plan to eat so that you can stick to your diet plan. Here’s an example:
- Monday: Almond milk with cereal, snack size dark chocolate bar, salmon for dinner with a serving of spinach
- Tuesday: Curried rice & tofu, almond nuts or milk for a snack
- Wednesday: Flax oatmeal with almond, battered cod sandwich for lunch, small piece of dark chocolate
- Thursday: Apple-celery smoothie for breakfast, handful of favorite nuts for a snack, crab cake sandwich for dinner
- Friday: Egg sandwich for breakfast, steamed spinach with fish of choice for dinner
- Saturday: Almond butter on bagel for breakfast, dark chocolate for a snack, tilapia with a side of creamed white beans for dinner
- Sunday: Spinach omelet for breakfast
This is just one example of how to create a detailed diet that makes sure you get enough nutrients in your diet every day to make a difference with your hair. If you’re up for it, you can also create a meal planning calendar for each meal as well.
Consuming a diet that is rich with the above elements can help you avoid hair loss as well as prevent hair thinning. Sticking with this diet is easier because you’re concentrating on the foods you can have, not eliminating any foods from your diet. A diet rich in greens, proteins, and nuts can help you improve your overall health as well as make your hair look healthy, thick and beautiful.
