Healthy Hair Diet

By:
Lynn Grieger

If dry, limp hair is weighing you down, then this diet is for you. Did you know that what you eat is reflected in the health of your hair? All of the hair-revitalizing shampoos in the world won't help if you aren't nourishing your body. Here's how the Healthy Hair Diet can help:

• Just like your body, your hair needs a balanced, nutritious diet to stay healthy. That's why this food plan contains a rainbow of fruits and vegetables that are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, whole grains for minerals, nuts and seeds for minerals and vitamins, and lean protein for iron. A fortified breakfast cereal will help your body get all of the other good stuff it needs.
  
  
• Water not only hydrates your body, but helps keep your hair silky and shiny. This diet includes eight to 10 glasses of water and juices a day for maximum hydration.
  
  
• The fiber from fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes is good for your body and your hair. This meal plan features lots of fiber-containing food as an option at each meal.
  
  
• Soy products contain phytoestrogens -- estrogens from plants -- that may boost your health, so this diet offers soymilk as a beverage choice and soy nuts as a snack option.
  
  

 See how your breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks can keep your hair -- and your body -- healthy.

BREAKFAST
option one
Total breakfast cereal with skim milk and blueberries
orange juice

option two
Special K cereal with low-fat soymilk and strawberries
grapefruit juice

option three
All Bran cereal with skim milk and mixed berries
orange juice

LUNCH
option one
turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread with dark green lettuce and tomato
tossed salad with green and red peppers and tomatoes
tangerine
soymilk

option two
split pea soup
dark rye bread
broccoli and carrots with low-fat dip
nectarine
skim milk

option three
garden vegetable pizza
tossed salad with broccoli, green and red peppers and tuna
kiwi
skim milk

DINNER
option one
classic roast beef
mashed sweet potatoes
steamed green beans
mixed berries drizzled with honey or maple syrup
low-fat soymilk

option two
orange beef broccoli
brown rice
mixed orange and grapefruit sections
low-fat soymilk

option three
glazed pork tenderloins
brussels sprouts
tossed salad with citrus dressing
baked potato with low-fat sour cream
strawberry shortcake
low-fat soymilk

SNACKS
These delicious snacks will boost your energy levels at the same time that they nourish your hair. Be sure to choose at least one snack with nuts and one with soy every day.

• 1/4 cup mixed nuts
• 1/2 cup mixed nuts, seeds and dried fruit
• apple berry smoothie
• tofu cubes in best teriyaki sauce and marinade
• yogurt topped with wheat germ, nuts, and berries
• roasted soy nuts
• Shredded Wheat and low-fat soymilk topped with ground flax seed and fresh fruit
  

Healthy Dos and Don'ts

Do:

• Eat lots of fruits and vegetables for their antioxidants -- the more variety of color, the better
• Take a daily multivitamin supplement
• Choose less processed foods whenever possible for the highest amount of vitamins
• Drink plenty of water to keep yourself well hydrated
  
  

Don't:

• Drink alcohol
• Smoke
• Eat highly processed foods (most snack foods, cookies, cakes, candies)