Ayurvedic Guide to Natural Beauty
Eat
Your Way to Hair Health!
Like your skin, your hair needs nutrition
from the inside out. If your diet is deficient in hair-friendly
foods, or your digestion is not efficient, all the expensive shampoos
and hair treatments in the world won’t be effective at maintaining
the color and longevity of your hair. So if you want a healthy,
shining crown of hair, start by taking a hard look at what you
eat, when you eat and how you eat.
What
to Eat for Healthy Hair
Instead
of focusing on specific nutrients or rigid quantities, ayurveda
recommends a medley of wholesome, natural foods as the best and
most palatable way of delivering a variety of nutrients to your
hair. The key is to eat foods that are whole, natural, organic
and fresh. The following are a general set of dietary principles--choose
in each category foods that are best for your consitiution and
dosha balance needs.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
Lassi can include a variety of ingredients in addition to the
yogurt and water. Our Rosehips
Lassi features rosehips, rich in vitamin C.
5. 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.
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