Food for Hair Growth: What to Eat, Drink, and Avoid

Let’s face it, you are what you eat. Your diet influences several aspects of your health, from your testosterone levels to hair growth.

Certain nutrients are essential for healthy hair, and deficiencies of these key nutrients can contribute to hair loss. Some of the best foods for supporting hair growth are rich in vitamins and minerals, like eggs, fatty fish, avocados, and more.

Eating a balanced diet that’s rich in certain vitamins and minerals is essential for supporting healthy hair growth. Here’s what you need to know…

How diet affects hair growth

There are some factors you can’t control regarding hair growth, like age and genetics, for starters.

However, other factors that affect hair health are more within your control, like your diet.

We have to level with you here — growing healthier hair isn’t just about eating one or two foods.

There’s no secret ingredient to eat each day that’s going to leave you with thick, flowing locks. Instead, it’s more about habitual healthy eating, focusing on a balanced diet full of nutritious foods.

The vitamins and minerals that you take in through your diet play a role in the different growth stages of hair follicles, which are structures under your scalp where hair grows.

The cells that make up hair follicles are some of the fastest dividing in the body, making them particularly sensitive to nutritional deficiencies.

While more research is needed to understand the connection between certain nutrients and hair loss, incorporating these nine foods to your diet can support healthy hair growth.

Eggs

Eggs are a great source of two nutrients — protein and biotin — that benefit hair health. Eggs are an easy addition to any meal (not just breakfast.

Hair is mostly made of a specific protein called keratin. Biotin produces keratin, which is why eating enough healthy protein sources can support healthy hair growth.

Additionally, eggs are a great source of other hair-healthy nutrients like zinc and selenium.

Fatty fish

Certain fish like salmon and tuna can provide a boost of essential nutrients that encourage hair growth.

Salmon and tuna are both high in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins B12 and D, all of which can support hair health.

An older study found that a supplement with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids increased hair density and reduced hair loss in women. However, more research is needed to determine the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on hair, especially when the nutrients are derived from food sources.

Avocados

Nutritious and delicious, avocados are popular for a few reasons, one being that they’re an excellent source of healthy fats, an essential part of a balanced diet.

Avocados are also a great source of vitamin E, with 100 grams (roughly a small avocado or half a medium avocado) providing about 15% of your daily needs.

While the connection between vitamin E and hair loss isn’t fully known or understood, the antioxidant may benefit scalp health by protecting against oxidative stress.

Berries

Another great source of antioxidants for hair health? Berries, which contain antioxidants like vitamin C.

Why are antioxidants so important for healthy hair? They’re known to help protect hair follicles against harmful molecules called free radicals, which exist naturally in the body and the environment and can cause hair damage.

Which berries are best for hair growth?

You can’t go wrong with a variety, including strawberries which provide more than half of your daily vitamin C needs (in 100 grams, or just over half a cup). Or blackberries, which have some of the highest antioxidant levels of berries.

Leafy greens

The phrase, “Eat your greens” has stuck around for a reason — that reason being that dark leafy greens such as spinach and kale contain important vitamins.

On its own, spinach is a powerhouse food, containing nutrients like folate, iron, and vitamins A and C, all necessary for hair growth.

Iron fuels your metabolism as well as hair growth by helping red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. Some research also suggests an iron deficiency can cause hair loss.

Other dark leafy greens like kale are also rich in antioxidant compounds that may help protect hair follicles from damage.

Oysters

A rich source of zinc, oysters are more than just a supposed aphrodisiac. Their nutritional profile may also improve hair growth.

Zinc has been found to support the hair growth cycle and may result in better hair health, possibly reversing hair loss.

Seeds

A variety of seeds are rich in nutrients that could benefit your hair and scalp, including vitamin E, zinc, and selenium.

A serving of sunflower seeds provides up to half of your daily vitamin E needs, and also contains hair-healthy B vitamins.

Pumpkin seeds not only provide a quick, easy snack but also a healthy dose of iron, selenium, and zinc.

Nuts

Another tasty and convenient food, nuts contain plenty of nutrients for hair growth.

A handful of almonds contain both healthy fatty acids and high amounts of vitamin E, B vitamins, and zinc.

Sweet potatoes

A healthy food staple, sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, a compound that’s converted into vitamin A by the body.

A cooked medium sweet potato (100 grams) even contains more than 100% of your daily vitamin A needs. Not only does vitamin A support healthy hair, but it can also help sebum production, the natural oils that protect skin and keep hair healthy.

Foods to avoid for hair health

Even though the connection between food and hair growth isn’t clear, there are some general foods or ingredients you may want to avoid to reduce the risk of hair loss.

One study suggests that simple carbohydrates like bread, cakes, or cookies may result in excess sebum production that causes inflammation.

Fried foods and red meat may also contribute to excessive sebum, according to a 2010 study.

Does this mean fried foods and simple carbohydrates cause hair loss? No. But limiting them helps support overall health. Everything in moderation.

The takeaway on foods for hair growth

No one food is the ticket to growing strong hair or reversing hair loss. Instead, it’s about incorporating a variety of nutritional foods into your diet and instilling healthy eating habits.

Certain foods contain nutrients that support healthy hair growth, including fatty fish like salmon, eggs, dark leafy greens like spinach, berries, nuts, and seeds.

These provide important nutrients for hair follicles like protein, iron, essential fatty acids, zinc, and vitamins A, C, D, and E.

Eating these foods, in addition to other healthy lifestyle habits and even hair loss medication if necessary, can help you minimize hair loss, and in some cases, increase healthy hair growth.

References:

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