Hair loss has been such a natural result of human experience that we’ve pretty much come to a place where it’s accepted and dealt with. Regardless, it can be troubling for self-esteem for men and women alike. General studies agree that most hair loss is due to genetics, and there’s not a lot to be done to reverse it once it happens. However, there are some things we can do that don’t involve questionable over the counter products in order to either keep hair loss at bay before it happens or keep what you have healthy and vibrant!
Hair is made up of a protein called Keratin. Keratin relies on the transfer of nutrients through your blood to build a hair “bulb”, which then creates layers of proteins that form into a strand and just keeps on going. Or sometimes not. And that’s the problem.
Like a plant, your hair needs food to grow. Sunshine. Care. If you take a plant, let’s say an Orchid, and you dye it, heat it, crimp it, and cover it with a bag, it’s probably going to die. That’s a really simplified metaphor, but it makes a decent point. The first step to keeping hair healthy is to take care of it like you would a plant. Just don’t put any miracle grow on it.
What would miracle grow look like for hair? While there is no tried and true miracle supplement for hair growth, there are still quite a few things you can eat to nourish your hair. Like everything else, it’s all about the balance of nutrients. The top nutrients for hair health are Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium, Biotin, Vitamin B complex, and Omega 3’s. We always suggest getting this from your food first, but supplementation is a good idea if you think you need that extra oomph. Where are you going to find these awesome nutrients in food?
- Spinach
- Yogurt
- Salmon
- Eggs
- Oysters
- Liver
- Nuts and Seeds
- Sweet Potatoes
- And of course… Cauliflower!
Some of these foods you can even find in our Plant-Based crust, to also include Almonds, Olive Oil (Omega 3!) and even a whole range of vitamin B in the Nutritional Yeast.
These are all great foods to add into your diet, but there is one secret that’s been slowly coming to surface that can make a huge difference. We’ll call it the underdog nutrient, better known as Vitamin K2.
Specifically, 2. Vitamin K2 plays an indirect yet very important role in the health of your hair and nails. How? By making your calcium do what it’s supposed to do. Go where it’s supposed to go. Vitamin K2 essentially tells calcium what to do, and it knows what it’s talking about.
Often times, part of the cause of hair loss is what’s called calcification of the skull. It sounds like a bad horror movie scene, but we promise it’s not as scary as that. Simply put, calcification is when calcium deposits basically begin to fill the bone structure of the skull thus blocking the blood flow. Put that with how you get all the minerals and nutrients for hair growth and you have a problem. Let’s go back to the plant.
Take a mason jar and fill it with water. Put a lid on it. Now try watering your Orchid. Probably not going to be very effective, right? Even if you don’t secure the lid down tight and a little water splashes everywhere, not helping much.
The role of Vitamin K2 is to get the lid off the jar and tell it a better place to go. For calcium, that means your teeth and bones. It’s a two for one.
The best source of vitamin K2 once again comes from food, namely grass-fed butter, but you’d have to eat a lot to see much of a difference. Supplementation for this nutrient is almost necessary. We recommend you source it from a company that uses non-GMO Natto as the derivative, as it is the most effective form. Here’s a great article on why.
You may not be able to completely rejuvenate hair growth with this method, and there are a lot of factors grazed over in this article as to why. But if you follow these few simple steps, you might see a difference in not only hair but skin and nails too!
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/which-vitamin-k2-supplement-is-best-mk-4-or-mk-7/
http://www.beautyglimpse.com/everything-about-vitamin-k2-and-its-connection-with-hair-loss/
https://growhairguru.com/what-is-hair-made-of/
http://alternativemedicine.com/6-essential-nutrients-for-strong-long-hair-and-nails/