Can Certain Foods Help Prevent Gray Hair? Here's What To Know
It's no surprise that your hair changes as you age. Similar to skin beginning to develop fine lines and losing elasticity, the strands on your head begin to shift. They may turn coarse, brittle, and gray. And while silver strands are a completely normal part of aging, with everyone obsessed with looking youthful lately, many wonder if certain foods might help prevent gray hair.
Women spoke to TikTok-famous, board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Jenny Liu, to find out what actually influences graying hair, and whether or not the foods you eat can make a difference. First and foremost, Dr. Liu says there is no diet or specific food that can completely prevent graying hair, but a well-balanced and nutrient-loaded one can "delay the process by supporting hair follicle health and reducing oxidative stress." You'll want to make sure you're not deficient in essential nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, copper, folate, and zinc. Dr. Liu added, "Deficiencies in B12, for example, have been linked to premature graying in some studies."
While many other factors dictate when graying begins, Dr. Liu emphasizes that your diet can play a supportive role in keeping your hair and scalp healthy for a long time. She suggests incorporating whole foods into your diet that are full of essential vitamins and minerals that are tied to preserving pigment. "Foods like oysters (high in zinc), salmon and sardines (rich in omega-3 fatty acids and selenium), and leafy greens (loaded with folate and antioxidants) can support healthy hair growth and potentially delay the onset of gray hair," she told Women.
Why graying happens
Maintaining healthy hair in your 50s and beyond is important, but it's also crucial to know and understand the science behind graying hair and why it happens earlier for some. According to our expert, board-certified dermatologist Dr. Jenny Liu, the process largely comes down to genetics. "As we age, the melanocyte stem cells in our hair follicles gradually reduce activity and die off, leading to strands that grow in white, silver, or gray. This process is largely determined by genetics — some people start graying in their 20s, while others maintain pigment into their 50s or beyond."
Still, Dr. Liu points out that certain lifestyle factors can also speed up the graying process. The dermatologist, with nearly a million followers on Instagram whose content is heavily focused on anti-aging and hair health, adds that free radical damage from excess UV exposure, environmental pollutants, and even inconsistent sleep patterns can contribute to the damage of 'melanocyte cells responsible for pigment production'.
At the end of the day, while everything anti-aging is trending and everyone wants to look youthful, Dr. Liu reminds us that graying is completely natural. A healthy diet and lifestyle might help delay the process, but it does come down to genetics. "A healthy lifestyle may not reverse gray hair," she says, "but it certainly helps keep your scalp and strands in their best possible shape." And when those silvery strands start to show up, the best thing you can do is care for them and wear them with confidence, because nothing beats healthy locks, no matter the color.
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