Having a healthy hair and scalp can lead to achieving all hair goals, whether it be longer, shinier, or thicker hair. One of the best-known ways to attain this health is through diet. While diet is known for curing an abundance of internal ailments, its effects can also be seen outside the body through healthy hair, nails, and skin.

A well-balanced meal plan will enhance hair and scalp health better than any bottle of hair vitamins off of a shelf. So, what do you eat for your hair to benefit from your balanced diet?

Check out this list of 5 diet categories that will change your hair’s quality dramatically!

Vitamin A: Carrots, Pumpkins, Sweet Potatoes

Vitamin A creates sebum, an oily substance made by hair glands that act as a natural scalp conditioner. Therefore, Vitamin A is crucial in preventing an itchy, dry scalp. There are plenty tasty options to incorporate into your diet to up your Vitamin A intake. These include vegetables like carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and others orange or yellow.

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Vitamin E: Nuts and Seeds

Vitamin E acts as a natural protectant against the sun’s harsh rays. Equally as important, it promotes good circulation in your scalp. Good circulation promotes the growth of healthy hair, which is something almost all of us would like.

Nuts are a great way to include more Vitamin E in your diet. Good nut sources of dietary Vitamin E include olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, and sunflower seeds.

Biotin: Eggs, Grains, and Nuts

Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin. Too little biotin causes brittle, dry hair leading to shedding. When creating your healthy hair diet be sure to include biotin-rich foods like whole grains, liver, egg yolk, soy flour, and yeast.

Iron: Leafy Greens and Meats

Iron deficiency is a leading cause of hair loss. Your follicles and scalp are fueled by your nutrient-rich blood supply. Health conditions like anemia disrupt the nutrient supply that is allocated to scalp stimulation. This causes changes in the growth cycle which leads to dreaded hair shedding.

Red meat, chicken, and fish provide iron that is readily available to the body. Vegetarians can raise their iron stores by including lentils, spinach and other leafy green vegetables such as broccoli and kale.

Protein: Meat, Eggs, and Dairy

Hair is made of a good amount of protein. Ensuring your diet is protein-rich is fundamental to making healthy hair both strong and healthy. If you aren’t consuming enough dietary protein, your hair can become dry, brittle and weak.

These three things are the perfect recipe for breakage which should be avoided at all costs. Worse, extremely low protein diets result in constrained hair growth and even hair loss.

Lean proteins provide the building blocks of our bodies. The hair and scalp are largely composed of protein. The bulk of healthy protein sources come from animals including chicken, turkey, eggs, fish, and other meats. Other protein sources include legumes, soybeans, cereal products and nuts.

Protein can be found in many nutritional and sports drinks as well. However, you have to be careful with protein as too much protein can strain the kidneys.