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Do you want shiny, healthy, beautiful hair? Who doesn’t! Polls have shown that a bad hair day can often negatively affect a person’s mood and self-esteem. But no need to get all tangled up in negativity! These 7 easy beauty tips will make you proud to show off your beautiful healthy hair and in turn give you a boost in self-confidence. Here’s to no more bad hair days!

1.  Cut down on heat styling.  Time spent with your hair dryer or straightening iron over time is wreaking havoc on your ambitions for beautiful hair. Extreme heat essentially cooks your hair and can make strands turn dry and brittle.  If you must use a heat styling tool, make sure to use the lowest setting possible and add a heat protective spray to buffer any damage from the hot tool.

2.  Don’t pluck your gray hairs!  As tempting as it may be, plucking can damage the hair follicle and the strand may never grow back. As you age and your hair naturally thins out, you’ll need every strand of hair you can get! Gray hair is perfectly good hair – it just lacks pigment.

3.  Massage your scalp.  Massaging the scalp stimulates hair growth and feels great. The massage will increase blood flow to your scalp, resulting in better mood and better circulation. For best results, practice daily one minute massages if you’re trying to grow out your strands!

4.  Try a natural hair mask.  You already know that avocado makes a fabulous nourishing body scrub, but did you know that you can also use avocado to nurture those thirsty hair strands! Blend ½ an avocado and 1 egg yolk in a blender and apply to hair, working from the ends up to the scalp. Wrap hair in a shower cap and wait 15-20 minutes. Rinse out in the shower and shampoo and condition as usual. Your hair will be beautiful, soft, and bouncy!

5.  Nourish from within.  A balanced diet with lots of water is important for healthy hair. Dehydration can lead to dry and frizzy hair strands, as can a low-fat diet. Remember good dietary fats are essential for nourishing the body. Omega 3 fatty acids such as salmon and walnuts are great choices to incorporate into your regular meal routine. Dietary proteins and iron are also required for hair growth and strength.  Eating foods high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants also have a positive effect on hair.

6.  Add supplements as needed.  Since no one eats perfectly all the time, taking a good multivitamin is wise to fill any gaps that may be in our diet. Specific nutrients needed for beautiful hair include Vitamin D, Zinc, and B-Complex. Vitamin D is important for hair follicle cycling and appropriate levels appear to reduce hair loss. Zinc is also important for healthy hair. Insufficient zinc levels may result in hair loss, thin and dull hair, or premature graying. B-Complex vitamins support beautiful hair. Biotin, niacin and cobalamin are among the most popular B-complex vitamins that help restore shine and thickness to strands. In addition to supplements, picking the best collagen for hair growth may help make progress to your goals as well.

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7.  If possible, avoid using hair color.  Hair color damages the hair significantly even when done correctly. The dyeing strips the hair of natural oils, turning strands weak and brittle. If you really want to change your hair color, it is best to go to a professional to minimize hair damage or experiment with natural herbal dyes which are not damaging to delicate hair strands.

If you are looking for the highest quality Vitamin and Mineral Supplements personalized for you, please go to www.personanutrition.com and take their on-line questionnaire providing individualized vitamin and mineral recommendations. Persona is the only Science Based supplement provider on the web today! Take advantage of their knowledge and use it to your health’s benefit!

This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information from this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this article.

The study selected participants from the larger Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study which followed women’s health, diet, and lifestyle from 2002 to 2008.  Study participants who became pregnant during that time were given two questionnaires 15 weeks into their pregnancies; the first covered lifestyle, background, illness, and health history; the second collected information about dietary habits during pregnancy via a food frequency questionnaire.  According to their reported food intakes, the women were categorized into 3 main groups according to diet: prudent diet, traditional diet, or western diet.  These were according to general patterns and allowed for the occasional deviations to be expected during pregnancy:

Prudent Diet: mostly raw and cooked vegetables, salad, onion/leek/garlic, fruit and berries, nuts, vegetable oils, water as beverage, whole grain cereals, poultry, and fiber rich bread; very little processed meat products (hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.), white bread, or pizza/tacos.

Traditional (Scandinavian) Diet: boiled potatoes, fish products, gravy, lean fish, margarine, rice pudding, low fat milk, and cooked vegetables; very little poultry or pizza/tacos.

Western Diet: salty snacks, chocolate and sweets, cakes, French fries, white bread, ketchup, sugar-sweetened drinks, processed meat products, and pasta; very little lean fish or fiber rich bread.

After following up with pregnancy outcomes, the researchers found the incidence of preterm birth was 10% less for women who followed a Traditional Diet and 11% less for those who followed a Prudent Diet, than for those women who usually consumed a more Westernized Diet.  While this is a correlation, and not necessarily a cause and effect relationship between diet and preterm birth, the implications are that dietary habits may effect pregnancy outcome.  More specifically, a healthy, balanced diet may help you carry your baby to full term.  Even if it turns out that this is just a huge coincidence, it couldn’t hurt to eat healthy during pregnancy, for your sake and for the sake of your baby.  There are lots of other benefits to eating a diet of whole grains, veggies, fruits, and lean protein sources, and avoiding processed and fast foods – especially during pregnancy and nursing.  Benefits which include more stable blood sugar levels, fewer mood swings, healthy weight gain, better blood pressure control, less water retention and inflammation, and better nourishment for your baby.  You both win if you eat right!

Sources:

Linda Englund-Ogge, e. a. (March 2014). Maternal Dietary Patterns and Preterm Delivery: Results from Large Prospective Cohort Study. British Medical Journal.

If you are looking for the highest quality Vitamin and Mineral Supplements personalized for you, please go to www.personanutrition.com and take their on-line questionnaire providing individualized vitamin and mineral recommendations. Persona is the only Science Based supplement provider on the web today! Take advantage of their knowledge and use it to your health’s benefit!

This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information from this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this article.