Medical Reports: Tress Stress

WSVN -- Do you have hair envy, jealous of all those women with gorgeous, shiny hair?

For many of us, our tresses are usually what stresses us out.

Sonjia Kanya: "I did a lot of processing to my hair. It was dry and brittle. I would put my hand through it and could feel hair coming out."

UM dermatologist Heather Woolery-Lloyd specializes in hair disorders, and she says you must feed your hair.

If your strands are dry and brittle, she suggests you start with salmon.

Heather Woolery-Lloyd, UM Dermatologist: "Salmon is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin D, and both of those are essential for healthy and especially shiny hair. You can also get your Omega-3 from flax seeds. One to two tablespoons a day is more than enough."

She also advises eating avocado, which are full of fatty acids to help hydrate hair.

Another common cause of hair loss or thinning hair is an iron deficiency, but to get more iron, you don't necessarily have to load up on meat.

Heather Woolery-Lloyd, UM Dermatologist: "Many people don't realize that prunes are a very excellent non-meat source of iron."

Also, try munching on some Brazil nuts.

Heather Woolery-Lloyd, UM Dermatologist: "They are high in an nutrient called selenium. Selenium is another one of the nutrients that's essential to healthy hair. If you get too much selenium, you can also have thinning of the hair, so you want to take a handful of Brazil nuts every other day."

While science hasn't found a way to stop graying hair just yet, there might be a hair helper, although you might not like it.

Heather Woolery-Lloyd, UM Dermatologist: "You want to look for things high in copper, and one of the things that is most high in copper is liver. So a typical serving of paté will provide you with all your copper needs for the day."

Elizabeth Trattner, who is a doctor of Chinese medicine, says we all need blood-building foods for good hair days.

Elizabeth Trattner, Doctor of Chinese Medicine: "If you build your blood, according to principles of Chinese medicine, you have excess nutrition going to your scalp. More blood equals healthier, shinier, fuller hair. Some blood-building foods are berries, yellow and orange vegetables, like beets, sweet potatoes, and squash. Black beans build blood."

Another surprising one: Bone marrow. And you can get that from eating good old chicken soup.

Elizabeth Trattner, Doctor of Chinese Medicine: "Marrow is best taken in the form of soup that's made from bones."

Elizabeth also has a natural suggestion from long ago for shiny hair.

Elizabeth Trattner, Doctor of Chinese Medicine: "One of the best things for shiny hair is Sea Buckthorn. Ancient Greeks actually fed this to their horses, and the word in Latin means 'shiny horse.' The best form is a juice called CharmaVi, you can either drink it as a smoothie or mix it with Seltzer water. Only ten millimeters, that's it."

But doctors say you can't beat bad hair with just food. You'll need to baby your hair by laying off the flat iron and blow dryer.

Diana Diaz: "Doctors say the supplement biotin can also help hair grow faster. If you don't want to take a biotin supplement, you can eat the leafy green Swiss chard."

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Elizabeth Trattner

Doctor of Chinese Medicine

305-682-9358

www.elizabethtrattner.com

Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd

www.regrowsolutions.com