A little while back, we gave you some tips on how to Eat Your Way to Healthy Hair. Today we’re kicking it up a notch with a list of foods to give you not only lustrous, strong hair, but glowing skin and sturdy, shiny nails too. Pack a few of these into your diet and you’ll be turning heads in no time.
A close relative of the blueberry, aronia berries are smaller and more tart. They’re packed with more antioxidants per handful than blueberries or acai berries, giving your circulation a kick start, keeping inflammation down and even helping with acne and ageing. Pair them with oats for an added beauty-conscious boost (oats also give your hair, skin and nails strength). We love baking them into flapjacks, whizzing them up in a breakfast smoothie and sprinkling them on top of our porridge.
Lobster dinner? Don’t mind if we do! Lobster is rich in zinc, which is proven to reduce hair loss and thinning. Zinc boosts collagen levels, giving nails, hair and skin that plump, supple look, as well as facilitating quick skin renewal by keeping cell membranes healthy. Add lobster to salads and paellas to get a healthy upgrade from all those extra veggies, or simply pour over the garlic butter and get cracking!
One large bell pepper contains close to 300% of your daily Vitamin C recommendation. Not only will this help with collagen production, but it’ll also help you to absorb iron properly. Iron’s essential for hair health because it helps carry nutrients and oxygen to the root. Without a good iron supply, you may notice that your hair looks drier and duller, with more breakage and split-ends. Eat them raw or flash-fry them to lock all those nutrients in.
Tahini is a paste made from toasted ground sesame seeds. It’s a key component in hummus and can be made into delicious salad dressings. Sesame seeds contain almost every type of vitamin B available from food, assisting with cell renewal and helping blood flow to the hair root and skin, boosting your glow factor and easing skin complaints like eczema and psoriasis. With a deficiency in B12, you’ll see an increase in hair loss and breakage, so make sure you stock up!
Often overlooked, these little guys play a huge part in cleaning and regenerating your skin and hair. They contain bags full of beauty-boosting vitamins like A and E, minerals and essential fatty acids. Toast them or add them straight to any salad or soup, or simply scoff them by the handful. Their fatty acids keep your skin and hair hydrated, minimising hair loss and breakage and boosting shine. Minerals like selenium and zinc encourage the body’s uptake of collagen and give you extra protection against pollutants and other baddies like UV rays.
Finally, some guilt-free reasons to indulge a little! The combination of vitamins and minerals found in dark chocolate (that’s calcium, iron and vitamins A, B1, C, D and E to name a few) work together to help repair dry, damaged skin, hair and nails. A square or two of the good stuff will boost hydration and add glow. Like pumpkin seeds, flavonols found in dark chocolate can help your skin protect itself from redness, sunspots and other signs of damage from UV rays. Eat your chocolate any way you like, just make sure it has at least 60% cocoa content for maximum goodness.
