Healthy Hair Diet

If dry, limp hair is weighing you down, then this diet is for you. Did you know that what you eat is reflected in the health of your hair? All of the hair-revitalizing shampoos in the world won't help if you aren't nourishing your body. Here's how the Healthy Hair Diet can help:

Just like your body, your hair needs a balanced, nutritious diet to stay healthy. That's why this food plan contains a rainbow of fruits and vegetables that are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, whole grains for minerals, nuts and seeds for minerals and vitamins, and lean protein for iron. A fortified breakfast cereal will help your body get all of the other good stuff it needs.

Water not only hydrates your body, but helps keep your hair silky and shiny. This diet includes eight to 10 glasses of water and juices a day for maximum hydration.

The fiber from fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes is good for your body and your hair. This meal plan features lots of fiber-containing food as an option at each meal.

Soy products contain phytoestrogens -- estrogens from plants -- that may boost your health, so this diet offers soymilk as a beverage choice and soy nuts as a snack option.

by Lynn Grieger, R.D., C.D.E.