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Include lots of vegetables in
your daily diet. Dark leafy greens, beets, summer squashes, broccoli,
carrots and white daikon radish, and fresh green herbs such as
cilantro, mint and basil are excellent choices for a varied and
rich supply of nutrients to your hair. Dice or chop vegetables
and cook them until fork-tender for better digestibility. Add
hair-friendly spices such as cumin and turmeric to vegetable
dishes. Spices not only offer their own healing wisdom; they
also help transport the nutrients from other foods you eat to
the cells and tissues of the body. Vary the vegetables you eat
from day to day.
Include lots of fruits in your
daily diet. Choose from different types of berries, citrus fruits,
melons and sweet grapes. Again, vary the fruits you eat from
day to day. Soak a handful of raisins in warm water for about
30 minutes and eat them every morning to promote regularity,
essential for hair health.
The coconut is revered in ayurveda
for its ability to nourish the hair and scalp. Premature falling
of hair or graying is associated in ayurveda with an imbalance
in Pitta dosha, the heat principle in the body. To balance the
fieriness of Pitta, add fresh grated coconut to vegetable or
grain dishes, and drink the fresh juice of the young tender coconut.
This juice is not only delicious and refreshing, it offers a
variety of nutrients for your hair. Plus, coconut contains oil
that prevents excessive drying out of the scalp and hair.
Dairy products are very nourishing
for your hair. Ayurveda recommends in particular whole milk,
fresh (not aged) cheese and lassi (a drink made by blending fresh
yogurt and water). Milk is traditionally boiled and cooled to
a comfortable temperature before it is drunk to improve digestibility.
A type of fresh cheese, called paneer, can be easily made at
home by bringing whole milk to a boil, curdling it with fresh
lemon juice, and straining the mixture through cheesecloth. Lassi
can include a variety of ingredients in addition to the yogurt
and water. To make hair-friendly rosehips lassi for one, blend
together 1/3 cup yogurt, 1 cup water, 3-4 rosehips and raw sugar
or honey to taste. If you choose honey, add it after pouring
your lassi into a glass, and stir it in with a spoon—heat
created during blending can destroy the healing qualities of
honey.
Whole grains and smaller legumes
also offer nourishment to your hair without overtaxing your digestive
system. Mung dhal (split hulled mung beans) cook quickly and
are easy to digest while offering rich nourishment. Vary the
grains you eat, and combine grains, beans, vegetables, herbs
and spices into intensely flavorful, nutrient-rich one-dish meals
that offer a cocktail of nutrients for your hair.
Include nuts in your daily diet.
Soak 8-10 almonds in hot water, blanch and eat with breakfast
every morning. Soaked walnuts are also good for hair health and
color. Ayurveda recommends soaking nuts before you eat them so
that they do not tax your digestion.
There are some ayurvedic herbs
that are called keshya rasayanas—herbs that promote the
overall health and longevity of your hair. Amla, or Indian Gooseberry,
is particularly revered for its ability to maintain hair color
and strength. Amla is widely available in tablet or powder form
to be taken as a dietary supplement. Triphala, a traditional
ayurvedic combination of three fruits (of which Amla is one)
is also good as a digestive toner and internal cleanser.
When and How to Eat
A balanced nutritious diet is
definitely your first step towards hair health and longevity.
But step two—eating correctly—is equally vital in order
to give your body the ability to convert the foods you eat into
a form your hair can assimilate and use to stay lustrous, vibrant
and young.
Eat the heaviest foods in your
diet--those that make your digestion work hard—in the middle
of the day. That’s when, according to ayurveda, your body’s
digestive ability peaks. Heavy grains, cheese and legumes should
thus mainly be eaten at lunch. Eat lighter at breakfast—enough
to kick-start your digestion, but not so much that you overload
it, and lighter at dinner, when your digestion is winding down
for the night.
Cook your meals in a positive
frame of mind. Everything is connected according to ayurveda—if
you are angry or stressed when you prepare your meal, you impart
that negative energy to the food; and your body, and hair, are
not likely to see the full benefit from eating those foods.
Eat in a happy, settled frame
of mind. Again, if you are stressed or upset when you eat, that
food will not benefit you fully. Eating in silence, with your
focus on the aromas, flavors, colors and textures on your plate
is best, but quiet, pleasant, nurturing company is also wonderful.
Your mealtimes are not times
to multi-task. Do not work, answer the telephone, read, play
video or computer games or watch television while you eat. Do
not eat on the go either, as you are driving or walking or shopping—if
you do not give your food your undivided attention, it will not
give your body, including your hair, all of its benefit.
Paying attention to what, when
and how you eat, on an ongoing basis, is the single best thing
you can do to maintain the health and beauty of your hair naturally.
Not only do good foods and good eating habits promote hair health,
they also help build resilience so your hair can better withstand
the damaging effects of environmental pollution, day-to-day stress
and less-than-perfect topical hair care products.
Note -- This material is educational and is not intended
to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. If you have
a medical concern, please consult your physician. |
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