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Super Summer Foods for Healthy Hair, Skin and Nails

When it comes to glorious glossy hair, super smooth skin and naturally gorgeous nails – it’s not just about what products you put on them, you should also be keeping an eye on what you put into your body as your diet can have a huge effect on your hair, skin and nails. Here at Littlewoods Bingo we’ve been investigating the best foods to improve our skin, hair and nail condition!

Protein, protein, protein...

Your skin, hair and nails are mostly made up of protein. Proteins include collagen, elastin and keratin which can help to provide strength and elasticity as well as ward off wrinkles. Most of us get enough protein from our diet already – it can be found in meat, chicken, eggs, dairy, fish and eggs. You don’t want to eat too much protein however, as any excess will be converted into fat. As a general guide you should aim to eat one serving of lean meat, chicken, eggs, seafood or legumes and two servings of low fat dairy products a day.

Essential Omega Oils

Essential fats are not the ones that you’ll find in a nice pie or fish and chips, but rather the ones called omega-3 and omega-6. Essential fats help protect against inflammation and are useful for improving blood clotting and immune responses. Fish is high in omega oils, including salmon, sardines and tuna, or if you can’t eat fish try flaxseed oil to increase your intake. Don’t overdo it though as too much has been known to bring on allergic responses – try to eat a few fish meals a week.

Energising Iron

If you suffer from tiredness and a general lack of energy, it might not be the early mornings – it might be a lack of iron! Symptoms of a lack of iron include pale skin, itchy skin, cracked lips and mouth, brittle nails and dry, brittle hair. Red meat is great for iron – the redder the better. If you’re a veggie you can also get your iron intake from whole grains and legumes but you’ll need to up your intake of Vitamin C to help absorption.

Nutty Goodness

Nuts are packed with loads of hair and nail loving essential fats and vitamins. Not only will they help improve the condition of your hair and nails, adding shine and strength, but they will also give you an energy boost so try eating a handful of nuts each day as an alternative snack.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is probably the most well known of all the vitamins, and rightly so. Vitamin C is essential to the body producing collagen, which plumps up skin and gives it elasticity. It also helps as an antioxidant that helps clear harmful by products from car fumes, sun rays and cigarette smoke. To increase your Vitamin C intake eat plenty of fruits including kiwifruit, oranges, lemons and grapefruit, for an instant collagen boost.