Introduction:
Beauty supplements carefully formulated for our needs may be very powerful – that’s why they are so popular. But first things first: nutrition is the foundation of your beauty and overall health. So here are foods that help to support our beauty, lighten up our skin, strengthen nails and thicken hair.
1. Foods Rich in Biotin
Biotin is the most well-known vitamin for hair health, helping to repair it, reduces hair shedding, and helps maintain healthy hair. To support healthy biotin levels, add these foods to your daily meals:
- Eggs, especially egg yolks. One yolk packs about 10 mcg of biotin, which is nearly a third of your daily needs.
- Nuts, especially almonds. Make it your daily healthy snack and get about 1.5 mcg of biotin per ounce of almonds.
- Salmon – famous not only for high biotin levels, but also for omega-3. It has nearly 5 mcg of biotin per 3-ounce serving, which is 17% of DV [1].
2. Foods Rich in Collagen
Collagen helps maintain skin elasticity and smooth, youthful-looking skin. By age 40, body collagen production drops 25%. So we need to take more from food, by adding these products to our diet:
- Bone broth is one of the best ways to have a daily dose of collagen. One cup can give you up to 10 grams, supporting not only skin elasticity but also joint health.
- Citrus fruits like oranges are another option. They are a rich source of vitamin C, which stabilizes collagen structure in our bodies, and we need it like 75-90 mg daily. And just one medium orange covers all these needs.
- Berries, especially strawberries and blueberries. Powerful antioxidants that help shield collagen from free radicals and support enzymes that maintain smooth, glowing skin [2].
3. Foods That Support Keratin
Keratin is the tough protein, building and protecting blocks of our hair, nails, skin's epidermis. You may help your body to find it in these foods:
- Leafy greens (kale and spinach) are rich with folate and iron. We need them for scalp health support, oxygen delivery to follicles and amino acid supply for keratin. One cup of kale has almost 20% of your daily folate, so feel free to add it to your every lunch and dinner.
- Lean proteins (chicken breast and turkey) are like building blocks for thicker hair. So it would be quite a healthy daily protein for health and beauty support [3].
4. Why Diet Alone Sometimes Isn’t Enough
You can eat all of these healthy foods in huge amounts daily, but it still doesn't guarantee a result. For example, taking antibiotics may reduce biotin absorption, leaving up to 30% unutilized. Keto or other low-calorie diets do not allow biotin-rich foods, leading to thinning hair. And you may also add stress and some hormonal shifts like perimenopause or postpartum.
5. When to Start Supplementing
If you try your best to eat healthy, but still have unpleasant signs like shedding, brittle nails, or dull skin, there may be another way to support your body. And that’s when supplementation may be a benefit. The studies and research confirm this. For example, the double-blind, placebo-controlled study of a biotin supplement shows a decline in hair loss [4]. Another study reported a collagen supplement improves skin hydration, elasticity, roughness, and density [5].
Conclusion:
A well-balanced diet is the basis for our health and beauty support. But sometimes food is not enough to provide the necessary levels of daily nutrients. That is when you may get help from beauty supplements, like Nutraharmony biotin vitamins with collagen & keratin. It easily becomes a part of your daily self-care rituals, helping to support your body needs of nutrients and to avoid vitamin deficiencies.
[1] https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Biotin-HealthProfessional/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29893587/
[3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10056349/
[4] https://jcadonline.com/biotin-for-hair-loss-evidence/
[5] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6835901/