The #1 Best Food to Stop Hair Loss
Hair loss is extremely frustrating to experience because it can be difficult to prevent or manage. It can also feel defeating because oftentimes you may not know the reason behind it. Yes, losing some hair is natural to the aging process, but there are other potential factors like genetics, lack of nutrients, stress, or other underlying issues.
While some of these factors are harder to manage than others, incorporating more of the right nutrients into your daily diet may be one helpful avenue in preventing more hair loss.
According to Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN, author of The First Time Mom's Pregnancy Cookbook and Fueling Male Fertility, "one of the best foods that supports healthy hair is eggs, specifically the egg yolk."
Read on to learn how eggs can help with hair loss, and for more healthy aging tips check out What the Science Says About Foods That Actually Slow Aging.
Eggs contain nutrients and vitamins that may help boost your hair growth. According to Manaker, "eggs are a natural source of biotin, the darling of the hair health supporting nutrients."
Biotin is a type of B vitamin, and aside from eggs, it can be found in meat, animal organs, fish, seeds, and nuts. In one egg you'll get about 10 micrograms, which is 33% of your recommended daily value. According to the National Institutes of Health, this is almost the highest percentage of biotin, second only to beef liver. And let's face it—eggs are a bit easier to incorporate into your meals than liver!
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Manaker notes, however, that there are a few limitations in the research when it comes to preventing hair loss.
"While there isn't much data that shows that biotin specifically prevents hair loss, there is some data that does suggest that deficiency of this nutrient is linked to unhealthy hair growth," she says. "So eating biotin foods like eggs may help keep your hair growing at a healthy rate."
One review found that biotin supplementation helped with hair growth and nail strengthening in participants who had underlying issues such as brittle nail syndrome. The study concluded that more research needs to be done on what biotin can do for people who don't already have existing issues with their hair or nails.
Another review on hair loss and vitamin supplementation emphasizes that biotin supplementation isn't necessary in healthy individuals.
Since these research articles are mostly referring to supplementation, it's still important to incorporate food sources of biotin into your diet, and eggs are an easy and affordable way of doing this.
Manaker also mentions that another hair-related perk to eating eggs is that "they contain high-quality protein which is another nutrient that supports healthy hair." In fact, a three-month study on women with thinning hair found that protein supplementation may possibly help reduce thinning and hair shedding.
So if you're looking to prevent or stop hair loss, consider picking up a carton of eggs on your next grocery trip!
