What Are the Best Foods and Mindset for Healthy Hair and Great Skin

We all want them: good, healthy hair and great skin. Ask anybody, and few will tell you that they don't want them or that they don't care about them. We spend millions to get good hair and great skin.

Just what is good skin and what is great hair? In general, its skin that is even toned, blemish free and glowing. It's hair that is clean, healthy looking and shiny. There are many things you can do - products you can buy - for hair and skin that looks good on the surface. But the things you put on the inside of your body are going to give you the greatest, most lasting skin and hair results if you make the right choices. The bonus? What you do on the inside for your hair and skin will benefit your overall health, as well. In fact, it's most important to start from the inside out, from the mental healthy to the healthy body and that means healthy, mindful eating.

How do you we think of your hair and your skin?

When you look in the mirror, do you appreciate the hair and skin that you have or do you bemoan the blemishes and the redness or cringe at what you perceive as hair too thin, thick, curly or unruly? As with most things in our lives, a shift in our thinking can help us to appreciate and embrace what we have - to work from where we are in order to realize what we want. A small tip: substitute affirmations for complaints and embrace your hair and skin.

Take the time to meditate to ease stress and tension that has a detrimental affect on hair and skin. Too much stress - hair falls out and skin breaks out. Hair becomes dull and so does the skin.

Consider the amount of sleep you get. Not enough sleep or poor sleep habits and the results are the same as having too much stress. Generally, we can control sleep and stress, consequently controlling our hair and skin's beauty. Pay attention to both to better your chances of great skin and great hair.

It's important to realize that the foods you eat make a difference in the way you look and feel each day. Eating the right amount of fresh, unprocessed food is important to helping you access the nutrients found in those foods.

Foods that have direct impact on your hair contain protein found in foods like eggs, fish, dairy, nuts and meats. Carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, apricots, mangoes, spinach and kale are rich in beta carotene. Vitamin H, which is also known as biotin, are found in eggs, fish, milks and nuts.

The fatty acids in some foods are great for your hair. Nuts, sunflower seeds, avocados and sesame seeds all have fatty acids and contribute to the shine and elasticity of the hair. These foods tend to be high in calories as well, so just remember to eat them in moderation.

Foods rich in iron are also important to healthy hair. Not enough iron and anemia can result and your hair will suffer - quite possibly fall out. Meats, organ meats in particular, are rich in iron. Other foods rich in iron are dried peaches, egg yolk, oysters, and oatmeal. These same foods are important to healthy skin, as well.

Skin Foods

Your skin is the largest organ of your body and, like your hair, one of the first things that people see. You want your skin to look the best. Chances are if our skin looks great and healthy we also feel great, because it can be a barometer to overall health.

Keep in mind that no food is going to do the work of making your skin look good without adequate hydration. It's important to remember to drink at least eight, eight ounce glasses of water. If you are not a fan, add lemon or cucumber or some other natural flavoring to get your eight glasses in. A good water filter can also enhance drinking water, it removes copper and chlorine from the water. And if it continues to be hard to get the proper amount of hydration, start with that look in the mirror and tell yourself how important water is to achieving the skin you want.

Luckily, there is some overlap with the food that is great for your skin and food that is great for your hair. Vitamin E is great for your skin when taken internally and as an oil applied to your hair topically. Vitamin E can be found in nuts and seeds, wheatgerm and wheatgerm oil, sunflower seeds, and sunflower oil, olive oil, almonds, pine nuts, peanut butter, sweet potato, whole grains and blackberries.

The selenium found in Brazil nuts, fish and shellfish, meats, sunflower seeds, wholemeal bread and garlic all contribute to having great skin. Some of the same foods contain the protein and biotin needed for skin.

Copper is an innocuous trace mineral that is also very important to the skin you want. Oysters, liver, shellfish, sardines, sunflower seeds and peanuts all contain copper. Again, the food benefit is overlapped and what is good for hair is good for skin.

The Nail Care Connection

Because so many of the vitamins and minerals that give you great food and great hair, it's important to mention just which of these food is also good for healthy great looking nails. You realize your nails are in trouble when they are dry, brittle, split or break easily and have white spots on them. In fact, nails that are susceptible to fungal infections are also nails that are not getting the proper nutrients. The proper foods are those that are high in biotin which is good for the hair and are also good for the nails. Adequate amounts of B12 and vitamin C are essential vitamins for strong nails. Vitamin C is easily found in tomatoes, oranges and orange juice, cranberries, cantaloupe, potatoes, green leafy vegetables and peppers. Foods that are high in vitamin B12 include shellfish, beef liver, fortified soy products and fortified cereals such as All Bran.

Now That You Know

It is important for you to know just what foods and vitamins contribute to healthy lifestyles and fantastic hair and skin. Foods are interactive. No vitamin does the job alone. These are some of the major contributors that target a specific part of your body. Given a little thought, a little creativity and a little diligence, a healthy diet can be achieved.

The ultimate takeaway is to eat a balanced diet, get an adequate amount of sleep and keep your stress level low. Ultimately, you will appreciate the skin you're in and the hair that adorns you.

Copyright 2011: Cynthia Turner