Nutrition // Beard Growth
Are you doing everything right and still having trouble growing that thick, full beard. It may be you need more help than decent products and a good beard routine…..
What you fuel your body with may effect the strength and rate in which your beard hair grows. Increasing your intake of certain nutrients in your diet could help to improve your beard growth… you know what this means….. veggies (or a supplement for those veggie haters amongst us).
The human body is a complex machine and even if you are deficient in some vitamins this doesn’t mean you will instantly grow a beastly beard when they’re brought up to healthy levels, they will just grow at the level they were meant to under optimal conditions. Ensuring your body is able to absorb the nutrients you are feeding it is just as important.
DHT
One very important factor to mention is DHT, this is an androgen produced as a byproduct of testosterone, basically DHT is a powerful male sex hormone. It is a bit of a weird one however as it can be responsible for both hair growth and hair loss just in different areas of the body.
DHT will effect men differently depending on the reason behind poor hair growth/hair loss. Genetics will always play a part in how you’re predisposed to grow hair, however external factors will play a part too. For example if your family has a history of male pattern baldness then too much DHT could be the reason for hair loss.
Generally however more DHT equals greater hair growth, which is why if you're not producing enough Testosterone and DHT or if they're being bound together by SHBG which makes them unavailable for use by the body, some men might see hair loss. There are many varying factors which will effect DHT in the body however, and if you think you are being effected by this you may want to consult your doctor for more in depth care.
But making sure you have the correct levels of nutrients in the body, combined with exercise, a good diet and plenty of sleep your beard will look the best it possibly can naturally.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an essential for cell repair and healthy skin. It also helps create sebum which naturally keeps your skin and hairs moisturised, giving your beard a lovely glossy shine. Beta- carotene is a red-orange pigment found in plants and fruits that is converted into vitamin A by the body, beta-carotene can be found naturally in lots of foods such as Kale, sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots and peas.
Vitamin E
This is a key vitamin for healthy circulation, good blood flow ensures that the hair follicles receive all the minerals, nutrients and oxygen they need to grow properly. Vitamin E is a powerful anti oxidant and as such helps to defend cells against damaging free radicals. Foods with high levels of vitamin E include green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, certain nuts including almonds, peanuts and hazelnuts and many vegetable oils such as sunflower and soybean.
Vitamin C
It’s been known for years that Vitamin C is very important for maintaining general heath, it also turns out that it’s great for beard growth. Vitamin C just like Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and will help to improve circulation and remove free radicals. Vitamin C can be found in many foods, fruits especially and Oranges in particular are a great source of Vitamin C,
Many fruits contain Vitamin C, the high fructose levels from eating fruit limits SHBG production in the liver, this is a protein that binds testosterone and DHT (dihydrotestosterone). Basically this means more testosterone available for use by the body, and hopefully will aid your bearded efforts.
B Vitamins
Niacin, Inositol and Biotin are all B vitamins that are essential for being generally healthy but your beard will benefit too!
Niacin helps to maintain the bodies hormone balance which is important for normal body function. Niacin is a B vitamin that promotes the circulation of blood to the hair follicles and enhances beard growth. Also, it helps in the production of several hormones in the body. Hormonal imbalance can cause many problems for the body, hair loss being one of them. Foods that contain niacin include oily fish, pork, chicken, liver, peanuts and strawberry.
Biotin or B7 can promote synthesis of Keratin, this is the main constituent of hair follicles. Thus maintaining healthy levels of this is vitally important for ensuring healthy hair and nail growth amongst other things. Oysters, wheat germ, beans, breads, legumes, fish, egg yolk are great sources of vitamin B7.
Inositol is an important B vitamin for healthy hair follicles due to the chain reaction of reducing androgens in the body.
Selenium
Another important factor in beard growth is testosterone levels, there is a direct link between beard growth and testosterone. Increased testosterone should increase and even out beard growth. One important mineral for maintaining a healthy level of testosterone is Selenium. One of the best sources of Selenium is Brazil nuts, you can obtain 1,917mcg’s of selenium from 100 grams of organic Brazilian nuts, which is equivalent to almost 3000% of your recommended daily value. Basically Brazil nuts are where it's at for Selenium.
There are so many factors that can influence your beard growth including genetics, medication, nutrition, exercise and hormone levels sadly there's no one magic pill for a fuller thicker beard. These vary from person to person and so there is no hard and fast rule for growing a good beard, some people will just naturally be able to grow a thick full beard. But making sure you optimise the external factors you can influence such as diet/nutrition, exercise and lots of sleep will help you on your way to a happy, healthy beard.