Everyone loves fair skin, glossy hair, and a healthy body. We spent hours doing skincare and hair care treatments trying to look a little bit younger, fairer, youthful, and shiny. Yet in this hectic and busy schedule, we often forget the importance of a good diet. Today, people want things to be fast, spontaneous, and perfect but there’s a lot of difference between in-the-moment treatment and long-term care. If you really wish for healthy skin and hair for the rest of your life without spending tons of money on artificial treatment- lookout for what you eat. As the proverb says, “we are what we eat” our health defines our overall body structure. A healthy diet plays a crucial role in prolonging youthful and bright looks.
It’s not just about free radical damage from the sun and habits like smoking that controls your skin, a healthy diet is a part of a healthy lifestyle, and mind you- not every food is healthy food!
Here are eight nutrients you need in your food for healthy skin and hair–
Protein
Protein is essentially one of the most important nutrients you need in your system for a healthy body. Protein and Amino acids play a crucial part in healing wounds and repairing damaged tissues including hair, skin, and even nails. They increase cell turnover which is the sloughing of old cells to make room for new ones.
What to eat? Whole eggs are among the most nutritious foods available if you want a complete dose of protein in your diet. They’re a good source of protein that’s easy to absorb and are also packed with selenium and vitamins B12 and A. If you are vegetarian a handful of nuts like almonds or peanuts is enough to provide enough protein. Apart from these, you can also eat Chicken breast, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt along with pulses like dal, rajma, or black-eyed peas.
Essential fats
If we really go by the food chart all fats aren’t equal. The bad fat is high in trans and saturated fats whereas the good fat is unsaturated and comes from vegetables, nuts, and fish. These essential fats play an important role in building muscles, energy, and for better absorption of vitamins and other nutrients. A good intake of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids can improve your skin oil production which further provides glow and treats skin conditions like dermatitis and eczema.
What to eat? Flaxseed oil, chia seeds walnuts, flaxseeds, walnut oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and mustard oil are excellent sources of fats in your diet. Seafood also provides enough fatty acids your body needs. You can also grab a wholegrain chocolate bar if you need a quick fix!
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are as important for your health as water in your life. They are the actual building blocks for healthy and glossy skin. Antioxidants include allium sulfur compounds, anthocyanins, beta-carotene, catechins, copper and cryptoxanthins provide Vitamin C, E, and flavonoids that power up your skin’s defense system.
What to eat? The good thing about antioxidants is that they are pocket friendly and are found in a variety of food like leeks, onions, garlic, eggplant, grapes berries, pumpkin, mangoes, apricots, carrots, spinach, parsley, red wine tea, seafood, lean meat, milk nuts, red capsicum, pumpkin, and mangoes.
B-complex vitamins
The B complex vitamins are present like a water-soluble vitamin in our body as a group with multiple health benefits. Vitamin b3 is used cosmetically as nicotinamide or niacinamide in a variety of cosmetic products to improve sebum production. They also improve the skin barrier system and help smoothen the skin texture and reduce wrinkles. While Biotin is believed to stimulate healthy hair growth, improve dryness and itching of the skin.
What to eat? While there are many pills are capsules present in the market for B complex vitamins, they are not effective in the long term. If you want to regulate the intake, naturally go for Salmon, Leafy Greens, Liver, Other Organ Meats, Eggs, Milk, Oysters, Clams, Legumes, and Mussels.
Iron
Iron is a very important part of a balanced diet as it is required for strength. Iron deficiency not only hamper your growth or performance- not enough iron in your diet ends up with pale, itchy skin, dull and brittle hair, and cracked nails. Iron is the key mineral used in the production of hemoglobin and helps with optimizing the skin’s wound healing system and reducing bruises marks.
What to eat? For consumption, the best food is red meat, pork, poultry, seafood, beans, dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach or peas, dried fruit, such as raisins and apricots, Iron-fortified cereals, bread, and pasta.
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