Vitamins, Minerals and Fatty acids

Vitamins for hair growth: what to include in your daily diet to prevent hair loss. Edyta Skrobotowicz, double certificated by Stanford Center for Health Education in Nutrition Science and Exercise Physiology

Blog: Hair Care Tips |

07 February 2022

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals together belong to the group of nutrients called micronutrients. Micronutrients are major elements in the standard hair follicle cycle, playing a key role in cellular turnover.

Vitamins are essential when it comes to healthy metabolic actions such as vision, growth, blood clotting, bone health, hair, and many others.

There are two types of vitamins: soluble in water and fat.

Below you see vitamins’ general characteristics:

Fat soluble vitamins: A, D, E, K
High risk of toxicity levels when consumed in excess. Stored in fat deposit and liver when consumed in excess.

Water soluble vitamins: Thiamin B1, Riboflavin B2, Niacin B3, Pyridoxal B6, Folate/Folic acid B9, Cobalamin B12, Biotin B7, Pantothenic Acid B5, Vitamin C.
Low risk of toxicity levels when consumed in excess. Will be removed from the body when consumed in excess.

Minerals

Minerals represent a various group of substances our body requires in different amounts. All of them are crucial to maintain health and strong metabolism: muscles, nervous system, enzymes activity. Consequently, minerals needed in relatively large amounts between a few hundred milligrams and a few grams are classified as major minerals. Those minerals required only in smaller amounts, typically in amounts between micrograms and a few milligrams are called trace minerals.

Essential minerals:

Major minerals: Calcium (Ca), Chloride (Cl), Magnesium (Mg), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Sodium (Na), Sulfur (S).
Trace minerals: Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Fluorine (F), Iodine (I), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo), Selenium (Se), Zinc (Zn).

Let’s take a closer look at those vitamins and minerals that are notably related to hair, their recommended intake, toxicity levels that may cause hair loss, and finally the food in which they may be found.

Niacin B3: Meat, liver, poultry, fish, enriched and whole-grain breads, bread products. A deficiency is called pellagra – “rough skin” and in early stage causes e.g.: diffuse hair loss. Daily level of intake should not exceed 35 mg/day. RDA: 14 mg/day adult females, 16 mg/day adult males.

Biotin B7: Nuts, legumes, whole grains, unpolished rice, egg yolks, natural foods. May cause alopecia. AI: 30 mcg/day adults.

Cobalamin B12: Mainly in food of animal origin, or plant-based but fortified. May cause hair loss, grey hair. RDA: 75 mg/day adult females, 90 mg/day adult males.

Vitamin A: Organ meats, eggs, carrots, mango, melons, apricots, broccoli, squash, peas, spinach, cantaloupe, fortified products. An excessive intake - above 3 000 mcg daily can lead to general hair loss. RDA: 700 mcg/day adult females, 900 mcg/day adult males.

Vitamin D: Mushroom, salmon, prawn, cod liver oil, trout, sardines (Atlantic), eggs, fortified orange juice/dairy products, sunlight. Is suspected to play a role in the hair cycle. Toxicity is rare and comes mainly from supplements’ overconsumption. Some researchers recommend “5 – 30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 am – 4 pm at least twice a week to the face, arms, hands and legs without sunscreen”. Is recommended not to exceed 100 mcg/day. RDA: 15 mcg/day up to 70 years, 20 mcg/day above 70 years.

Vitamin E: Vegetable oils and spreads, unprocessed cereal grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and fatty portions of meats, fish. Its role in antioxidation has potential associations with hair diseases. Is recommended not to exceed 1 000 mg/day. RDA: 15 mg/day adults.

Copper: Liver, seafood, nuts, seeds, whole-grains, cocoa products. Essential for keratin fiber strength. Is recommended not to exceed 10000 mcg/day. RDA: 900 mcg/day adults.

Iron: Lean meats, poultry, fish, tofu, fortified cereals, green leafy vegetables, legumes. A deficiency may cause diffuse hair loss. Is suspected to regulate multiple genes within the hair follicle. Is recommended not to exceed 45 mg/day. RDA: 18 mg/day/adult females up to 50 years, 8 mg/day/adult females above 50 years, 8 mg/day/adult males.

Zinc: Meat, seafood, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds. A deficiency may cause temporary hair loss, thin white and brittle hair. Is recommended not to exceed 40 mg/day. RDA: 8 mg/day adult females, 11 mg/day adult males.

Selenium: Lean meats, seafood, brown rice, eggs. A deficiency may cause hair loss. Is recommended not to exceed 400 mcg/day. RDA: 55 mcg/day.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids

Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are important components of cell membranes and must be included in the diet since the body is unable to synthesize them itself.
Adequate intake for Omega-6 is 17g/day for adults up to 50 years, and 14 g/day for adults above 50 years. For Omega-3 it is 1.6g/day for adults.

Foods rich in these nutrients are walnuts, seeds, plant oils, tofu, seaweed, eggs, fish.

Edyta Skrobotowicz:
Double certificated by Stanford Center for Health Education in Nutrition Science and Exercise Physiology.
edytaskrobotowicz@gmail.com

← All articles