Why our hair needs protein & how to get it through a healthy diet
Welcome back to my Hump Day Hair Clinic blog. I recently shared a post on Instagram that explained amino acids and their importance in our diet. I’ve had a lot of further questions about the post, so I thought this would be a good topic to dig deeper into in my next blog.
Ok, here’s the science part.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Protein is made up of 20 amino acids. Our bodies naturally produce 11 of these but, for good health, we must get the other 9 amino acids (known as “essential amino acids”) from the foods that we eat. If a food contains all nine of these essential amino acids, it is called a "complete protein".
So, what foods are complete proteins?
Animal proteins including meat, dairy, fish, egg and poultry are complete proteins. You can find plant-based, non-animal derived foods that are also complete proteins. These include quinoa, buckwheat, hempseed and soybeans.
Luckily, especially for those following a vegetarian or plant-based diet, eating the foods above is not the only way to get complete proteins into your diet. You can combine complementary incomplete proteins to make complete proteins and get those essential amino acids.
People talk a lot about pairing incomplete proteins but you don’t necessarily have to eat them together every time. You just need to ensure that your diet includes enough of a variety of incomplete proteins throughout the day to feed your body the essential amino acids it needs.
Here are some examples of combinations of incomplete proteins that pair well to create complete proteins:
Lentils & rice
Oats & nuts
Brown rice & black beans
Peanut butter & wholegrain bread
Noodles in peanut sauce
Hummus & crackers
Beans with nuts or seeds
So why does this matter for our hair and scalp health? Well, your hair IS protein, it is primarily made up of protein filaments, called keratin, and chains of amino acids. Good hair starts from within. A healthy and balanced diet that hits all key food groups will keep your hair and scalp nourished and in the best position for strength and growth.
I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions or other topics that you’d like me to cover, just drop me a DM or comment on my Instagram page. You can give me a follow here.
