Vitamins for Hair and Nails

Everyone would love to have long, lustrous hair and pink, healthy-looking, well-manicured, strong nails. The way your hair and nails look, indicate your health. Deficiency of hair and nail vitamins causes brittle and weak hair and nails. Do you wish to have fuller, shinier and vibrant hair? Are you longing for even-colored, smooth, stronger, and longer nails? If yes, then you need to include the vitamins in your diet.

Almost everyone experiences some amount of hair loss due to aging. Brittle nails and vitamin deficiency go hand in hand. However, one can promote growth and strength with vitamins for hair and nail growth. Deficiency of vitamins for hair and nails makes the growth of these parts of our body slow.

Dull, brittle hair and nails are a sign of deficiency of vitamins. You can enhance the growth with certain vitamins. Along with some vitamin supplements, you need to eat a well-balanced diet, and drink plenty of water. This will help in keeping your skin cells healthier.

Hair cells need vitamins and minerals, amino acids, enzymes, as well as trace elements for growth. Lack of these, will cause your hair to become dull, lifeless, and brittle. Many claim to come up with specialized products like special vitamin that stops baldness and helps in hair growth.

Baldness is a hereditary condition, and no matter what you do or eat, none of the vitamins will help in resolving the problem. However, there are some that do help correct hair loss problems caused by a poor diet. Some of the vitamins include:

Vitamin B complex is also called beauty vitamin as it helps in healthy hair growth. It also helps in prevention of hair loss as well as premature graying of hair. You need to include 50 mg of folate, biotin, and inositol, the major vitamin B's in your diet.

You can eat turkey, liver, chili, peppers, bananas, lentils, oats, barley, wheat barn, avocado, Brazil nuts, other nuts, etc. They are rich in vitamin B, and help in promoting a healthy metabolism. Some of the important parts of vitamin B complex that promote hair growth are as follows:

Inositol: There are many inositol benefits that helps in prevention of hair loss.
Niacin: Niacin or vitamin B3 improves blood circulation and promotes hair growth.

Panthenol: Vitamin B5 or panthenol is the most important vitamin for hair growth. It helps in promoting hair regrowth and helps in prevention of hair loss. This vitamin influences the hair color.

Riboflavin: Riboflavin benefits or vitamin B2 helps in promoting scalp hair growth and prevention of hair loss.
Pyridoxine: Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine helps provide the essential amino acids and proteins to the scalp that promotes hair growth and reduces hair fall.

Biotin: Biotin is a very essential hair vitamin that helps in prevention of hair loss, premature graying, and promotion of healthy hair. It is also an important vitamin for preventing hair loss.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that improves scalp circulation and helps in maintenance of hair as well as skin health. You should eat citrus fruits like oranges, kiwis, strawberries, pineapples, melons, tomatoes, green and red peppers for vitamin C. This vitamin for healthy hair growth helps develop collagen that is very important for healthy hair, as well as nails. Vitamin C destroys radicals that damage the hair and nails. Thus, promoting healthier, stronger and beautiful hair as well as nails.

Vitamin E works as an antioxidant. It destroys the free radicals in the body, and promotes scalp circulation. You can get vitamin E, by eating nuts, green leafy vegetables, grains, olive oil, vegetable oil, and even cereals. Vitamin E improves the hair texture making it look smoother and fuller. This is also one of the most used vitamin for hair growth.

Vitamin A is a very useful vitamin that lubricates the hair roots and prevents them from becoming dry. It helps keep the hair root active, thus promoting hair growth. It builds the protective nerve fibers around the hair, and prevents them from being damaged. You can get vitamin A, by including dairy products like cheese, milk, beef liver in your diet. Carrots, broccoli, spinach, pumpkin, sweet potatoes are also high in vitamin A.

You may have seen many women with long, beautiful, and healthy nails. Many people with iron deficiency suffer from 'spoon nails'. This is a condition where the shape of the nail becomes concave. Brittle nails are a sign of iron deficiency, thyroid problems, decrease in liver function, and even problems with blood circulation. There are certain vitamins for nail growth that promote stronger and healthier nails.

Vitamin A deficiency can make the nails dry and brittle. If you find your nails becoming weaker, it means you lack vitamin A in your body. You should include cheese, milk, carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes in your diet to promote healthy fingernails.

One of the most important vitamins for strong nails is vitamin B12. It helps in promoting nail growth and healthy color of nails. If nails are dark and dry with round and curved ends, it is a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency. You need to include liver, beef, ham, yogurt, cheese, eggs, and tuna in your diet to overcome this deficiency.

Other than vitamins for nail growth, there are other important supplements that need to be included in your diet. These supplements help promote healthy and stronger looking nails.

Calcium is very important for stronger nails. Your nails tend to become fragile if there is calcium deficiency in your body. You should eat more of cheese, figs, buttermilk, almond, and milk for providing your body with calcium.

Folic acid deficiency causes nails to become weak. One may suffer from hangnails due to lack of folic acid. You need to include sunflower seeds, lettuce, peas, spinach, and other leafy vegetables in your diet.

Nails are made up of keratin, a form of protein. Lack of proteins cause formation of white bands across the nails. It also makes the nails brittle and prone to breakage. The rich sources of proteins are red meat, chicken, eggs, low-fat dairy products that can be included in your diet.

Can you see white spots on your nails? White spots on nails, also known as leukonychia, can be a sign of zinc deficiency in your body. You need to eat cashews, yogurt, crabs, milk, boiled peas, and chicken to overcome zinc deficiency.

The vitamins and other supplements can be derived from a right diet. Balanced diet and a stress-free lifestyle is very important for healthy growth of hair and nails.