Trace Minerals And Other Nutrients To Combat Hair Loss

You stare into the mirror in dismay. There’s less of your hair today than there was yesterday. And than two days ago. Certainly far less than a month ago. You’re unhappy with your thinning hair.

You wonder, “What on earth is going on? Why is my hair falling like leaves on a tree in October?”.

There’s a straightforward reason.

You may be deficient in certain trace minerals and other nutrients.

In this article, I’ll explain:

• What trace minerals are
• Which five trace minerals, along with other nutrients, support hair health and combat hair loss
• Which nutrients help with alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes the hair to fall out in patches
   

Why Trace Minerals Are Essential For Your Hair

Your hair is directly affected by the levels of trace minerals in your body. Trace minerals are ones that you need tiny amounts of in order to be healthy, but your body can’t make them. Thus, you’ve got to get trace minerals from food or supplements.

And iIf you’re deficient in certain trace minerals, you could experience hair loss as well as other symptoms of unhealthy hair.

The question becomes, why is this true?

As I mentioned, trace minerals are substances that are necessary for your health. Even though you need only tiny quantities, nonetheless they’re critical helper nutrients for enzymes and proteins

When I say protein, you probably picture your hair, nails, and skin. Perhaps even your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. And you’re correct. But there’s more to it than that.

Let’s take a look.

In your cells, you have what are essentially tiny biological machines - the proteins and enzymes. They do your body’s work. They build tissue. They break down substances. Proteins and enzymes are intimately involved in your body’s biochemistry. And they’re quite amazing! They’re like worker bees.

Thus, proteins and enzymes - along with their required trace minerals - are an essential part of your hair growth and health.

The Five Key Trace Minerals Your Hair Needs

Your hair needs five key trace minerals for optimum health. They are:

#1 Iron

If you’re deficient in iron, and anemic, this is a situation leading to hair loss. Anemia and iron deficiency aren’t the same thing, but they often go hand-in-hand.

Some of the best iron-rich foods to obtain more iron in your diet are red meat and liver. As well, you can consider iron supplementation. Just be sure you choose a non-synthetic supplement, and take it together with vitamin C, which increases its effectiveness.

#2 Silicon

Silicon helps the structure of your hair. If you’re deficient in silicon, you’ll find that your hair lacks structural integrity. It will be weak. It will break. Foods containing silicon include green beans and spinach.

#3 Zinc

Of all these trace minerals, zinc is probably the most important because it’s involved in so many enzyme reactions. Regarding hair health, if you’re deficient in zinc, you could develop male pattern baldness. Foods rich in zinc include seafood, almonds, and beef.

#4 Copper

Copper works together with zinc. It’s involved with the color of your hair, so if you’re deficient in copper you could actually go grey. Or white.

As well, copper is involved with the enzyme tyrosinase that’s part of the vitamin C complex. This complex helps copper to work with vitamin C while it builds collagen, which your hair is made of. Good food sources of copper include liver, oysters, and leafy greens.

# 5 Selenium

Selenium is a powerful antioxidant. It’s good for your thyroid because it supports healthy thyroid hormone functions that regulate hair growth. Selenium also helps to counter some of the reactions that occur with the thyroid if you have an autoimmune condition and are suffering a lot of free radical damage that can adversely affect your hair.

Foods rich in selenium include turkey, chicken, and eggs.

These five trace minerals are the most important ones for the three main characteristics of your hair:

1. Length
2. Integrity
3. Growth
    

These Specific Nutrients Help With Alopecia

If you have alopecia, an autoimmune condition which causes you to lose your hair in patches, trace minerals are helpful, but so too are other elements such as:

B3: being deficient in B3 can contribute to alopecia

Biotin: biotin is in food, but your gut microbes also make it. If you don’t have enough of the microbes that make it, or if you have gut damage that prevents full absorption of biotin, you can become deficient. Happily, people who take high levels of biotin often experience hair regrowth.

Vitamin E: vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, and is similar to selenium in terms of how it can help heal free radical damage.

Vitamin A: vitamin A helps support the growth of your hair follicles by triggering stem cells to activate hair growth.

Here’s What Can Help With Dry Hair

If your hair is too dry, you may need more essential fatty acids such as Omega 3 in your diet. Or, if you’re consuming them, it’s possible you have trouble digesting fat, especially if you have a gallbladder problem, or you don’t have a gallbladder.

You may also need more bile salts. If you’re lacking flora (good gut bacteria) you may not be able to recycle the bile in the way your body needs to.

You Don’t Have To Live With Hair Loss

You don’t need to dread the loss of your hair, day after day. Now that you know how simple it is to restore hair health, and to potentially regrow your hair, you can get started right away to increase your levels of these key trace minerals and nutrients. Then you can revel in your healthy head of hair.

Up Next:-

• Can Trace Minerals Inhibit Viruses
• The Best Trace Mineral Supplement
• Zinc Enhanced Trace Minerals
   

Disclaimer: Our educational content is not meant or intended for medical advice or treatment.

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated for quality and relevancy.