Vitamin H for Healthy Hair
No matter what we do, sometimes our hair doesn’t look as healthy as we would want it to. We try looking after it by using various lotions and potions but nothing seems to work and we wonder why. But looking after our hair in the long term is just as important and may be something you haven’t even considered yet. Our lifestyle and our eating habits are the key to a long term healthy head of hair.
What is Vitamin H?
Many shampoos and conditioners in the hairdressing industry contain what is known as the vitamin B complex. It is used in many hair products because it strengthens hair follicles. What you may not know is that part of the vitamin B complex is a vitamin called vitamin H (or biotin).
Vitamin H has been called ‘the hair vitamin’. Not because it promotes a healthy head of hair, but because a deficiency in vitamin H can lead to thinning of your hair and eventually hair loss. It can also create dry scaly skin and is also the cause of greying hair.
Vitamin H (Biotin) can be depleted in the body by alcohol. So the morning after the night before may be the reason your hair could be suffering as much as your head. And if your lifestyle involves many nights out with a drink or two then the balance of vitamin H in your body could be going up and down like a Yo Yo causing your hair to suffer regularly.
Eating foods that contain vitamin H can restore the balance. Vitamin H is found in many foods.
What foods contain vitamin H or Biotin?
- Most fruits and vegetables (particularly apples)
- Soybeans
- Whole grains (wholemeal bread)
- Dry roasted peanuts
- Brewer’s yeast (marmite)
- Egg yolks
It is interesting to note, however, that although egg yolks are high in vitamin H, raw egg whites are not and in fact prevent the body absorbing vitamin H (biotin). So if you are one of those health conscious people that take regular exercise to keep your body in shape, you may want to start thinking about your hair too and reconsider having that raw egg shake every morning.
It is not all doom and gloom however. Vitamin H is naturally created by the body and a deficiency in vitamin H is quite hard to achieve. But an up and down lifestyle or irregular eating habits could be having an affect on your levels of vitamin H and in turn could cause problems for your hair in the future.
You can’t overdose on vitamin H either. So if you are worried about thinning hair or going grey too early, it can’t hurt to stock the body up on the many foods that contain vitamin H. After all, you are what you eat!