How to have Healthy Skin and Hair on a Vegan Diet

Best vegan and vegetarian diet for healthy looking skin and hair.

Major skin problems include acne, wrinkles and dry skin. Similarly, dandruff, brittleness and extreme breakage are the common issues with hair. Now, solving these health problems and making your skin and hair healthy is not as difficult as it may seem; just supply them with the nutrients they thrive on, and there you are on your way to a clear, lustrous complexion!

Glowing skin and glossy hair are indicators of good health. So, most of those vegetarian and vegan foods that help you stay healthy are also good for your skin and hair. Consumption of fruit and vegetables alone is sufficient to take care of most of the ailments. And when you also add some other specific foods to your daily intake regimen, you will hardly ever need to touch any pharmaceutical type products. So, what nutrients do your skin and hair really need, and what foods do you find them in? Let’s have a look.

Antioxidants and fatty acids, especially Omega-3, are the main nutrients you should be targeting. Antioxidants help by destroying free radicals in our body; free radicals are those highly reactive chemicals that are produced naturally in our body which can damage our cells, if not blocked by antioxidants. Vitamin E, Vitamin C and beta-carotene are excellent sources of antioxidants and can be found in fruit and vegetables like tomatoes, pomegranates, carrots, red grapes, oranges, etc.

Fatty acids moisturize our skin and help reduce its dryness, redness and inflammation. Primrose oil is a good source of fatty acid. For more of Omega-3, you should also include soybeans, flaxseeds, cabbage, walnuts and broccoli in your diet.

Vitamin E plays an important role in healing the skin and preventing scarring. It helps the red blood cells carry more nutrients to the skin. Good sources of Vitamin E include olive oil, spinach, sunflower seed, etc.

Vitamin C, apart from being an awesome antioxidant, also speeds up the production of collagen in the body. Collagen is a structural protein of the connective tissue in our skin. It provides shape and support to the skin and lack of it makes the skin sag. Almost all citrus fruits, e.g. lemon, kiwifruit, grapefruit, orange, lime, etc. contain Vitamin C. Other sources include broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, papaya, parsley, sweet potato, etc.

Beta Carotene is yet another antioxidant essential for good skin. Our body converts it to Vitamin A, and uses it to repair the skin tissues. The resilience it provides to the skin helps protect it against damage from the sun. You get Beta Carotene from carrots, spinach, broccoli, turnip, lettuce, dried apricots, etc.

You can also include some vitamin A sources like carrot and watermelon in your diet but take care not to overdo it. Vitamins B5 and B2 also promote cell growth and are vital for healthy skin.

And don’t forget the importance of water. Drink enough of it in order to keep your skin and hair hydrated.

Rather than addressing a problem after it gets serious, it’s always wise to prevent it in the first place; it’s especially true with wrinkles which are difficult to get rid of once they get deeper. And when the prevention is as easy as making some simple changes in your food habits, you just shouldn’t be asking for more!