Nutrition and Hair Loss

According to Ayurveda traditional medicine, nutrition plays an important role in hair health and vitamin deficiencies can cause hair loss.

A number of nutritional deficiencies have been linked to thinning or weak hair, hair loss, and loss of hair color in Ayurveda.¹

To help prevent and treat specific nutritional deficiencies, include the following food in your daily diet:¹

Nutrient	Deficiency Can Cause¹	Good Food Sources
Biotin	Hair thinning and balding	Brewer’s yeast, cauliflower, avocado, cheese, liver, cooked eggs, salmon, cooked pork⁹¹
Calcium	Weak hair	Milk, yogurt, cheese, white beans, tofu, Chinese cabbage, rhubarb, spinach⁹²
Choline	Premature grey hair	Eggs, organ meats, wheat germ, beef, codfish, Brussels sprouts, broccoli⁹³
Copper	Loss of hair color	Calf’s liver, crimini mushrooms, seeds, cashews, greens, garbanzo and navy beans, eggplant, asparagus, soybeans⁹⁴
Folic acid (vitamin B9 or folate)	Hair loss	Legumes (e.g., lentils, pinto, and garbanzo, navy, black, and kidney beans) spinach, asparagus, oranges, greens, beets, romaine lettuce, calf’s liver, strawberries⁹⁵
Inositol	Hair loss	Citrus fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts⁹⁶
Iron	Dry, brittle hair	Soybeans, lentils, spinach, seeds, beef, venison, tofu, cinnamon, turmeric, romaine lettuce, Swiss chard, black molasses, basil, thyme⁹⁷
PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid)	Premature grey hair	Grains, meats⁹⁸
Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5)	Hair loss	Mushrooms, cauliflower, corn, broccoli, calf’s liver, yogurt, greens, seeds, tomatoes⁹⁹
Riboflavin (vitamin B2)	Hair loss	Mushrooms, spinach, milk, liver, beef, soybeans¹⁰⁰
Vitamin D	Weak hair	Salmon, sardines, shrimp, cod, eggs¹⁰¹
Zinc	Hair loss	Sesame and pumpkin seeds, yogurt, green peas, beef, lamb, calf’s liver, crimini mushrooms, spinach, turkey¹⁰²

Unofficially referred to as vitamin B8.

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