Zinc is responsible for the following important factors:

The production of cells

The growth and repair of tissues

The maintenance of all oil secreting glands in the scalp.

There is another equally important role which zinc plays, and that is in the formation of collagen and protein synthesis. The logical conclusion which can be drawn from this is that when it comes to hair maintenance and the prevention of dandruff zinc deficiency can be on of the reasons for problems in this area. It is not widely known in the community that most Americans have a deficiency in zinc.

When it comes to good sources of zinc most animal origin foods are okay, but seafood, including oysters are particularly good. Eggs and milk also contain zinc, but it must be said it is found in much smaller quantities. Nuts,legumes and natural grains also contain zinc, but this is of a different type than that found in animal sources and is not easily utilised by the body. There is one contradiction to this and that is that oats are a very good source of zinc and are also easily utilised.

The majority of animal origin foods, with particular emphasis on meats,fish,milk,cheese,eggs and yogurt all contain protein. Broadly speaking diets in the Western world contain sufficient protein and it is therefore not necessary for the average person to eat additional protein. Despite the fact that hair is made of protein it is completely false to believe that excessive protein intake will improve hair growth. On the contrary , it is likely to cause other health problems.

There are nine essential amino acids in complete proteins and this creates somewhat of a problem for vegeterians as they are mostly found in animal origin foods. Vegetables,seeds,nuts,grains and legumes all contain protein but it is not in the same form necessary for a healthy body. Soybeans are the only common non-meat source for complete protein. Fortunately tofu and texturised vegetable protein (TVP) have been made from soybeans and this enables them to be made into various dishes. Vegetarians can of course eat a wide variety of vegetables and so obtain all the essential amino acids from these sources.

It is quite some time now since sheep farmers found that iodine depleted soil and consequently vegetation had an adverse effect on the growth of wool in sheep.Iodine is also essential in the growth of our hair. It is quite common to find , and it is generally accepted that table salt has iodine synthetically added but unfortunately this form of iodine is capable of causing iodine overload as it is not easily assimilated into the body. It is worth noting here that the thyroid may be adversely affected by any excess of iodine in the body.

A natural conclusion to be drawn from these facts is that it is always better to retrieve your iodine from completely natural food sources. Seaweed,seafood,lima beans,salmon,eggs,molasses,watercress,garlic and potatoes with the skin on are good natural sources.

Oxygen is the most abundant element in the earth's crust , the second being the trace element silica, which is a form of silicon. Due to the manner in which our food is processed and our soil depleted by chemical treatments so often trace minerals are lost and consequently they are rarely found in Western diets. The trace mineral silica is important to hair growth, but it vital to the strength of hair. It will not necessarily stop hair from falling out from the follicle, but it will certainly prevent hair breakage. It slows the aging process by the stimulation of cell metabolism and formation.

Rice,oats,lettuce,parsnips,asparagus,onions,leek,cabbage,strawberries,cucumber,sunflower seeds,rhubarb are particular foods which are rich in silica. It is worthy of note that a lot of these foods are found in Asian diets and the result of this is that Asians have strong and healthy hair. To try and maintain an acceptable level of trace minerals Americans should attempt to source foods which are organically grown.This will at least go a part of the way to solving the problems created by soil depletion. Whenever possible these foods should be eaten uncooked and with rice it should be used unwashed as trace minerals can quite easily be lost in the cooking and washing process