Giving you nothing but the best from A to Zinc. When seeking to ally (Shouldn’t that be alloy – Ed) yourself with one core nutrient that will increase the pace of hair growth, Zinc is possibly the most important.
It keeps hair healthy, speeds the creation of new cells in the body with obvious benefits for growing new hair cells. As with all things that are good for you, too much can be detrimental to your health with the potential to poison the individual a residual risk of taking too much. The reason that Zinc rates so highly in my opinion is that its positive effects with regard to hair benefits are on a dual basis.
We have learned that testosterone can benefit hair growth a hormone that drives the body to perform at an optimum, however it should also be noted that testosterone and too much of it is also well known as one of the singular reasons behind male baldness. Zinc serves to provide a balance in the body through the elevated androgen levels of the hormone DHT that coincides with high testosterone.
There is a reason as to why the majority of one size fits all vitamin pills include a recommended daily allowance of Zinc, that is based on there being severe deficiencies of this much needed nutrient in the diets of most people, with more than 2 billion people even in the developed world suffering a deficiency. It has benefits besides those pertaining to hair in that it is an antioxidant that aids in purifying unwanted elements from our body, along with keeping us looking and feeling younger.
It has been known since ancient times that as well as having a lethal affect at high doses, that it slows down the aging process both in the muscles and on the surface, with takers of Zinc as a dietary supplement noting that their downtime after injury is reduced as an effect of taking it. Similarly it is known to boost the immune system, helping to keep us healthy after a bout of illness which in itself gets hair growth back to an acceptable level after a temporary blip.
You will probably find that when you go looking for Zinc as a standalone addition to your diet that it comes in the its ‘gluconate’ form, this is the form most conductive to human consumption. The manufacturers of hair products have already gotten in on the act of using Zinc in hair care, another one of the benefits of Zinc hair wise is that it is a useful anti-dandruff agent, and is used in shampoos as a result.
Perhaps one of the key reasons why so many in the Western World are deficient in Zinc is that the foods which contain the higher concentrations naturally are amongst the more exotic food types. It must be noted that if you take too much Zinc the positive effects with regards to hair growth are negated, you may not poison yourself, but do try and keep your consumption of the now listed food groups at an acceptable level to get the best out of what Zinc has to offer.
Good sources of Zinc are found in: Oysters, Crabs, Beef Shanks, Lobster, Pork Shoulder, Fortified Breakfast Cereals, Baked Beans, Cashew Nuts, Yoghurt, Kidney Beans, Peas, Oatmeal, Milk, Sole, Chicken Breasts and Almonds.
Much of the foods listed here in particular the shellfish which contain the most valuable source of the nutrient are expensive to acquire, and eat consistently, and as a result adding them to your diet may not be possible. So too a lot of those foods on the list, and the fact that many of them need to be boiled to prevent the benefits of the nutrient being lost, may mean that the foods are not to your taste.
In this case there is the option of assuring that you will not be one of the 2 billion persons who have a deficiency with Zinc by going the supplement route. An acceptable dose it should be remembered should not exceed that which can be acquired naturally, as Zinc is best consumed in ‘trace’ amounts.
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