8 Foods to Add to Your Diet for Healthier Hair, Skin, and Nails
What you eat shows up on your body: here's what to put on your plate
When looking at how to improve the health of hair, skin, and nails, a logical choice would be to go to the cosmetics counter. Many products promise to make hair stronger, longer nails; young looking skin.
Taking a detour to the grocery store could provide you with many benefits. Not only is what you eat important, but so is what you put on your body.
"Your skin and body are a reflection of what you put into your body," explains Alain Michon, the medical director of the Ottawa Skin Clinic and a board-certified member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine
This idea sounds plausible and even appealing. But can we truly eat our way to healthier hair, skin, and nails? Here’s what research and insights from three experts reveal.
1. Fatty Fish
One of the best types of food to improve your looks is fatty fish; salmon, mackerel, and herring are among the top sources of nutrients.
All three are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which will help to minimize inflammation and redness in your skin, in addition to providing protein, vitamin E and biotin (a nutrient supporting the formation of keratin).
Keratin is a structural protein contributing to hair and nails, and therefore, supporting keratin formation internally is one of the best ways from a nutritional standpoint to directly improve these structures.
2. Sweet Potatoes
The bright orange color of sweet potatoes tells us something important: they contain a large amount of beta-carotene, which our bodies can convert into Vitamin A.
Vitamin A stimulates the production of keratin and plays an important role in maintaining healthy skin, nails, and hair.
Further research conducted in 2012 indicates that a deficiency of vitamin A could negatively affect both the hair and skin.
In addition to vitamin A, sweet potatoes contain a number of antioxidants that can help protect skin cells from oxidative stress - a leading cause of premature aging.
3. Eggs
Keratin is the primary component of hair, a protein; hence, dietary protein is considered the most significant nutritional factor when assessing hair condition.
A lack of protein in the diet leads to brittle hair, while a single extra-large egg, weighing approximately 63 grams, provides approximately 7 grams of protein.
In addition to being an excellent source of protein, eggs also contain biotin, which has been demonstrated to assist in strengthening nails according to previous research, making eggs one of the most effective single foods for supporting both hair and nails overall.
4. Avocados
Avocados are one of the rare foods that deliver healthy fats, antioxidants, and skin-specific vitamins in a single serving.
● Vitamin C
● Vitamin A
● Vitamin E
Vitamin C in particular plays a role in collagen synthesis, the process that keeps skin firm and elastic.
A 2017 review found that vitamin C intake, typically associated with fruit and vegetable consumption, was linked to skin health and may help reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
5. Nuts and Seeds
Some of the best sources of some of the most skin-relevant nutrients come from almonds, walnuts, and sunflower seed.
Sunflower seeds have excellent content for three skin-relevant nutrients, including biotin, protein, and vitamin E.
Almonds and walnuts specifically provide the antioxidant vitamin E, which has been shown to reduce skin inflammation and reduce sun damage as well as visible signs of aging, such as fine lines and sun spots.
Just a small handful of each of these foods in your meal or as a snack can help improve your skin health over time.
6. Oysters
One of the nutrients that is often overlooked when it comes to skin and hair is zinc, which can be found in high amounts in Oysters.
Zinc can help with the growth of hair as well as the rebuilding of tissues. A cup of raw oyster has approximately 97.5mg of zinc, but also has about 14.2 grams of protein.
If oysters are not readily available, pumpkin seeds and legumes can be a great plant-based substitute for these two micronutrients.
7. Dark Leafy Greens
Leafy greens - spinach, kale, swiss chard, and bok choy - provide numerous nutrients for healthy skin, hair, and nails.
Dark leafy greens are great sources of vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, iron, and antioxidants.
They are also some of the most nutrient-rich plant foods. Additionally, a major cause of hair loss due to nutritional deficiency is iron deficiency, which can be improved by consuming leafy greens.
8. Water-Rich Foods
By drinking sufficient amounts of fluids, one helps maintain healthy skin. Drinking enough fluids is very important for providing elasticity, plumpness, and clarity to the skin. In addition to drinking fluids, eating high-water foods also adds to your fluid intake.
Foods high in water include cucumbers, watermelon, celery, tomatoes, strawberries, and lettuce. These foods will add to your daily fluid intake as well as provide the body with vitamins and antioxidants.
Staying hydrated consistently will help to maintain your skin barrier and will help to prevent your skin from becoming dull or aged by flushing cellular debris out of the body.
What to Limit
Knowing what to add matters less if what you're removing is undoing the work. Alcohol dehydrates the skin and interferes with the body's normal repair processes.
A study of more than 3,000 women found that heavy drinking was associated with facial aging signs, including under-eye puffiness, midface volume loss, and increased blood vessel visibility.
Quick Wins This Week
This week, include a fatty fish meal in your daily eating, e.g., a mackerel sandwich. Your overall diet doesn't have to be altered — just changing one meal will improve your nutrient intake!
Replace your mid-afternoon snack with a small handful of mixed nuts or sunflower seeds. It takes thirty seconds to prepare, delivers biotin, vitamin E, and protein in one go, and keeps you away from the processed snacks that work against your skin.
Add a dark leafy green to one meal each day, spinach in your eggs, kale in a soup, chard on the side. By the end of the week, you'll have built a simple, sustainable habit that covers iron and antioxidants without any extra effort.
Jonesha Smith