Your Diet and Hair Loss:
Nutrition Advice to Fight Hair Loss - page 2

Reminder from the previous page. The secret to keeping your hair is first and foremost about properly feeding it from the inside. A diet that is right for your hair should include as few as possible rich in refined sugar nutrients, and provide a sufficient intake of: 1) proteins 2) iron, 3) sulfur, 4) zinc and 5) vitamin B.

Proteins

Their role
They are essential because they determin the "keratinisation" (formation of hair cells) and contain the sulfured fatty acids of which the hair is made. Recommended Daily Intake of protein (RDI): 50 to 60 g.

Animal Source
Sole (27), tuna (25), hard crust cheese (average of 27, but 40 for Parmesan!), salami (24), soft crust cheese (22 on average), cooked ham (22), chicken (21), beef (18), egg yoke (16).

Vegetable Source
Soy wheat (45), grilled peanuts (27), lentils (24), beans (23), pistashios (21), almonds (20).

Beware !

Amino acids are mainly found in protein of animal origin. Vegetarians who suffer from hair loss should carefully monitor their protein RDI and make up for the lack of sulfured amino acids by nutritional complements such as, for instance, brewing yeast, which it is particularly rich in them (45).

But the excess of protein is not good for the hair either... See our section Excessively Acid Diet: Beware for Your Hair!

Sole (27)	Cheese (27)	Peanuts (27)	Lentil (24)

Level in mg for 100g eatable. Source : ISHA

* ISHA : Food Hygiene Scientific Institute, in France

Iron

Its role
Essential to the red globules' metabolism, iron plays a vital role in the nutrition and oxygenation of the hair roots. In case of a lack of iron, the hair becomes more tern, progressively thins out, and falls.

Iron is better absorbed by direct nutrition intakes than by medication. Also, our system absorbs iron contained in vegetables 5 times less than the iron found in meat. RDI: 12 mg during puberty, 9 mg for adult men.

Animal Source
Mussels (24), seashells (20 on average), black pudding (22), beef or lamb liver (10), kidney (9), veal lever (8), egg yoke (7), oysters (5,5), salami (4), beef and veal meat (3 on average).

Vegetable source
Parsily (from 2 to 20), dark chocolate (12), soy wheat (10), breakfast whole cereal (8 on average, but 23 for Special K), almonds & nuts (4,5), spinach - beware of common misconceptions regarding spinach: raw (4), cooked or in can (2) - cooked white beans (3,5), cooked lentils (2,5), dry peanuts (2,20).

Tip
Vitaimin C eases the transportation of iron. Orange juice taken during a meal multiples by three the absorption of the iron contained in the nutrient ingested.

Combination to Avoid
Iron and tea, because tea tannin inhibits the absorption of iron. Coffee has the same effect, but to a much lesser degree.

Beware !

The lack of iron, often found in women in age of reproduction or in vegetarians, triggers a loss in hair quality.

When the hair thins out or falls beyond normal throughout the head, it is recommended to have a blood test in order to check the levels of iron serique and ferritin ( Iron Deficiency and Hair Loss). If their level is low, an intake of iron is necessary to bring them back up. If they are normal, the issue is more complicated to solve: best is then to have a Clauderer Hair Diagnosis, in order to determine the problem's exact cause.

Mussels (24)	Black pudding (22)	Parsley (20)	Seashells (20)

Dark chocolate (12)	Beef liver (10) Veal liver (8)	Egg yoke (7)	Raw spinash (4) cooked (2)

Level in mg for 100g eatable.Source : ISHA

Sulphur and Zinc

Their role
Sulphur consolidates the various proteins of which keratin is made. In order be able to do so, it requires zinc, which links itself to the sulfured end of a protein, and keeps it attached to another one. That explains the key role of the sulfur-zinc combination in the hair's constitution. Sulfur RDI: 1000 mg. Zinc RDI: 15 mg.

Animal source
Sulphur: shrimp (300), chicken (25), beef meat (240), lamb (210), salmon, cod, veal meat and porc (200), egg yoke, oyster (180), seashels (150).
Zinc: Oysters (20), seashells (5), egg yoke (4), veal meat (3,5), porc (2,6).

Vegetable Source
Sulphur: Soy (323), brown rice (300), lentils (277), peas (219), oat, wheat, corn (200), hazelnuts (198), brocoli (137).
Zinc: Wheat grains and morning cereal (5,5), lentils (5,5), beans (5,2), whole bread (5), peas (3,5).

Good combinations between sulphur & zinc
Animal: oysters, egg yoke
Vegetable: lentils, morning cereal (wheat).

Shrimp (S:300)	Oysters (Zn:20)	Chicken (S:250)	Peas (S:219)

Brown rice (S:300)	Whole bread (Zn:5)	Cereal (S:200 Zn:5)

Level in mg for 100g eatable. Source: ISHA

Vitamins B

Their role
The various vitamins included in the vitamin B group are THE hair vitamins. They generally boost the renewal of cells, especially those of the hair follicle, the renewal of which is the fastest in the entire body.

In particular:
B3 (RDI, 15mg) increases the blod flow in the roots,
B5 (RDI, 15 mg) helps hair growth,
B6 (RDI, 2 mg) is necessary for the metabolism of the keratin's sulfured proteins,
B8 controls the secretion of sebum.

Animal source
B3: liver (15), canned tuna (13,5), mackerel (8), chicken (7), veal meat (6), cooked ham (5,10).
B5: egg yoke (6), turkey (3).
B: harang (1,3), skimed powdered milk, (1,3), plaice (1), salmon and tuna (0,5).
B8 (in mcg): egg (14), chicken (10).

Vegetable source
B3: whole breakfast cereal (15) mushrooms (5), soy (5), almonds (4), rice (4), dry figs (3).
B5: mushrooms (2,7), lentils (1,5) soy (1,4).
B6: whole breakfast cereal (1,7 on average, but 3,3 for Special K), corn seeds (0,7), spinach (0,5), banana (0,5), potato (0,4).
B8 (in mcg): mushroom (11), cauliflower (11), lentils (9).

Tuna (B3:13,5)	Eggs (B5:6, B8:14mcg)	Bananas (B6:0,5)	Mushrooms (B3:5, B5:2,7, B8:11mcg)

Level in mg for 100g eatable. Source: ISHA

In Short

Proteins, sulfur and zinc are necessary to the keratin's synthesis, iron is necessary to the oxygenation of the roots, and vitamin B is essential to the hair follicle's renewal. In order to preserve the nutritional value of those 5 elements, try to have as littles as possible of highly transformed sugar, and to look out for cooking time.

Proteins + Sulphur + Zinc	Iron	Vitamine B
= Keratine synthsis	= oxygenation of the roots	= Renewal of the hair folicle cells

Brewing yeast is the best dietary supplement for the hair: it contains the 5 substances needed for a good general condition of the scalp and the hair. Sulphured protein (45), iron (18), zinc and vitamin B: B3 (55), B5 (17,5), B6 (7). After menopause, a sufficient daily intake of calcium, vitamin E and selenium should be added to the 5 basic elements.