How Vitamin D can help with hair growth!
In the last decade, we’ve seen a lot of research about how vitamin D can help with hair growth. But what does that mean, exactly? How does vitamin D help cause hair growth? And how does the sun impact hair growth in general? We’re here to answer all your questions about this fascinating topic!
First, let’s take a look at what we know about how vitamin D helps cause hair growth. There are two main ways that vitamin D can influence your hair: by affecting the production of certain hormones (like testosterone and estrogen) and by influencing the way in which your body responds to other hormones (like those produced by stress).
When you’re exposed to sunlight, your skin absorbs UVB rays and converts them into vitamin D, which then goes on to have an impact on many different parts of your body. Vitamin D helps regulate some key hormones that affect hair growth, like testosterone and estrogen. And it also helps keep levels of cortisol—the hormone that is secreted when you are under stress—in check. This means that if you think of vitamin D as a kind of “anti-stress” hormone, then it makes sense that having enough vitamin D would help prevent excessive amounts of cortisol from harming your hair follicles.
Here are some simple tips for getting more Vitamin D into your diet:
- Eat more fish. Fish is a great source of Vitamin D, especially wild salmon and mackerel. Other options include tuna and sardines.
- Get outside! Just 15 minutes of sun exposure can help boost your body’s natural production of Vitamin D by as much as 100 per cent, according to the National Institutes of Health. If you don’t want to go outside in the winter, try taking a walk around the block or sitting next to a window with some direct sunlight streaming through (but not directly on).
- Add more mushrooms to your meals! Mushrooms contain ergosterol, which is the precursor molecule that our bodies use to produce vitamin D2 (the form found in plants). So if you’re looking for an easy way to get more D into your diet, consider adding a few shrooms onto your plate!
- Supplements are another great option to effectively get enough Vitamin D into your system.
View MHR Clinic’s supplements below.
MHR Clinic uses highly skilled, experienced and dedicated surgeons, who are members of ISHSR (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery), the General Medical Council and who are accredited by other important medical and surgical bodies.
If you want to understand more about hair transplant processes, our knowledgeable consultants are happy and waiting to help you. Telephone 01565 745 344 or contact MHR Clinic through this contact page.