Diet for Good Hair

Instead of focusing on specific nutrients or rigid quantities, ayurveda recommends a medley of wholesome, natural foods as the best and most palatable way of delivering a variety of nutrients to your hair. The key is to eat foods that are whole, natural, organic and fresh.

Include lots of vegetables in your daily diet. Dark leafy greens, beets, summer squashes, broccoli, carrots and white daikon radish, and fresh green herbs such as cilantro, mint and basil are excellent choices for a varied and rich supply of nutrients to your hair. Dice or chop vegetables and cook them until fork-tender for better digestibility. Add hair-friendly spices such as cumin and turmeric to vegetable dishes. Spices not only offer their own healing wisdom; they also help transport the nutrients from other foods you eat to the cells and tissues of the body. Vary the vegetables you eat from day to day.

Include lots of fruits in your daily diet. Choose from different types of berries, citrus fruits, melons and sweet grapes. Again, vary the fruits you eat from day to day. Soak a handful of raisins in warm water for about 30 minutes and eat them every morning to promote regularity, essential for hair health.

The coconut is revered in ayurveda for its ability to nourish the hair and scalp. Premature falling of hair or graying is associated in ayurveda with an imbalance in Pitta dosha, the heat principle in the body. To balance the fieriness of Pitta, add fresh grated coconut to vegetable or grain dishes, and drink the fresh juice of the young tender coconut. This juice is not only delicious and refreshing, it offers a variety of nutrients for your hair. Plus, coconut contains oil that prevents excessive drying out of the scalp and hair.

Dairy products are very nourishing for your hair. Ayurveda recommends in particular whole milk, fresh (not aged) cheese and lassi (a drink made by blending fresh yogurt and water). Milk is traditionally boiled and cooled to a comfortable temperature before it is drunk to improve digestibility. A type of fresh cheese, called paneer, can be easily made at home by bringing whole milk to a boil, curdling it with fresh lemon juice, and straining the mixture through cheesecloth. Lassi can include a variety of ingredients in addition to the yogurt and water. To make hair-friendly rosehips lassi for one, blend together 1/3 cup yogurt, 1 cup water, 3-4 rosehips and raw sugar or honey to taste. If you choose honey, add it after pouring your lassi into a glass, and stir it in with a spoon—heat created during blending can destroy the healing qualities of honey.

Whole grains and smaller legumes also offer nourishment to your hair without overtaxing your digestive system. Mung dhal (split hulled mung beans) cook quickly and are easy to digest while offering rich nourishment. Vary the grains you eat, and combine grains, beans, vegetables, herbs and spices into intensely flavorful, nutrient-rich one-dish meals that offer a cocktail of nutrients for your hair.

Include nuts in your daily diet. Soak 8-10 almonds in hot water, blanch and eat with breakfast every morning. Soaked walnuts are also good for hair health and color. Ayurveda recommends soaking nuts before you eat them so that they do not tax your digestion.

There are some ayurvedic herbs that are called keshya rasayanas—herbs that promote the overall health and longevity of your hair. Amla, or Indian Gooseberry, is particularly revered for its ability to maintain hair color and strength. Amla is widely available in tablet or powder form to be taken as a dietary supplement. Triphala, a traditional ayurvedic combination of three fruits (of which Amla is one) is also good as a digestive toner and internal cleanser.

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