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The Best Vitamin & Nutrient for Healthy Hair

Healthy hair is a concern for any person but especially as you age. There is no cure for baldness or systematic hair loss. Since that's the case, protecting and encouraging healthy hair becomes more of a priority. General malnourishment can cause hair to be brittle, sparse and lack shine and color among other things.

  1. Vitamin A

    • When vitamin A is lacking in the body, it can cause dandruff and a loss of hair. Increasing vitamin A consumption can reverse those symptoms, if the lack of vitamin A caused them in the first place.

    B Vitamins

    • Because the hair depends on a steady supply of blood and oxygen for healthy growth, B vitamins play a major role in healthy hair. Vitamins B6, folic acid and vitamin B12 are essential for production of red blood cells. Deficiency of one of these vitamins can cause anemia and reduced blood supply to the hair and scalp. Folic acid and vitamin B12 are also necessary for the formation of hair follicles. Low biotin can also cause hair loss.

    Vitamin C

    • Hair that breaks easily is a sign of a vitamin C deficiency. When a person is vitamin C deficient, the hair comes apart below the surface of the skin. Developing hair coils up as result. Long term vitamin C deficiency causes hair to be dry and tangled.

    Iron

    • Iron is also essential to red blood cell development and maintaining the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. When red blood cell development is compromised, oxygen to the red blood cells is less available and leads to hair loss and other problems.

    Zinc

    • Hair loss and baldness are often associated with zinc deficiency. These symptoms can be reversed with increased zinc intake. Zinc also plays a part in the maintenance and functioning of the oil-secreting glands attached to the hair follicle.

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