Why is Zinc important for your hair?

Zinc is an incredibly important mineral that your body uses for correct immune system function and producing a growing cells all across the body. Zinc is also used for wound healing.

A deficiency in Zinc in your diet could lead to:

• unexplained weight loss
• wounds that won't heal
• lack of appetite
• decreased sense of smell and taste
• hair loss

If your body isn't able to reproduce cells at the necessary rate all across the body, your body will start to prioritise your major organs. This is done at the expense of your more minor organs such as your hair. Your skin health will also start to deteriorate. 

Where do we get Zinc from in our diet:

• Beef and other animal proteins
• Oysters
• Spinach
• Wheat Germ
• Pumpkin seeds
• Lentils

While there are a lot of foods that contain Zinc, the above are the foods thats have the highest levels. A regular balanced diet will likely have enough Zinc in it, however if you follow a stricter diet such as Vegetarian or Vegan then it is worth checking on your Zinc levels regularly as well as your Iron levels.

A 1988 clinical study actually found that certain concentrations of Zinc Sulphate were potent inhibitors of 5-alpha reductase. Research has also shown that Zinc levels in the blood are lower on average in those suffering from hair loss. Alopecia Areata and Telogen Effluvium suffers have been found to have an even lower trace level of Zinc in their blood. Could this be a contributor to their condition? Potentially yes as studies have shown that taking a Zinc supplement can lead to some improvement in Alopecia Areata sufferers. 

Zinc could be the answer to helping you combat your hair loss. Zinc supplements are readily available online.