I love smoothies and drink one for breakfast around three or four times a week. I get all my daily allowance of fruit and veggies first thing in the morning and regulates my digestive system. A popular smoothie and salad ingredient in recent years is kale, but did you know that this vegetable has tangible benefits for your hair?
Kale is not called a powerhouse for nothing and while some have a hard time digesting it, steaming it first helps. Kale is tremendously popular whether eaten in salads, mixed with other greens or as my favorite…in smoothies. Some say it tastes bitter while others won’t even touch anything green, but if you are up for adding pure goodness to your body and your hair then kale is a vegetable you need to try.
Benefits of Kale
Just about everyone agrees that kale is “the” superfood right now. Kale is packed with vitamins and nutrients and has more nutrients than spinach. According to Shelly Malone, MPH, RDN, CBNP, who is an Integrative & Functional Dietitian, “Kale is a nutritional powerhouse providing many essential vitamins and minerals that fight inflammation and strengthen our tissues including vitamin E, B-vitamins, iron, phytonutrients, and calcium. It also provides prebiotics which help maintain a healthy gut microbiome – probably the most critical component for healthy skin and hair.”
It is one of the healthiest vegetables around with high amounts of vitamin K, but also has vitamins A, C, E, B2, B1, B6, and B3. It also has manganese, copper, fiber, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, protein, phosphorus, omega-3s, and folate. Kale has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer nutrients and helps with diabetes, heart disease, cancer, bone healthy, and healthy skin, and hair.
What can kale do for your hair?
Kale helps the scalp and hair from the inside out. Just knowing all vitamin and nutrient content of kale is reason enough, but it has cosmetic benefits as well for our hair.
For one it is an alkaline food that helps to prevent acidity in the body. When a body is too acidic, it causes the body to break down including your hair and nails. Kale helps hair with elasticity which keeps hair stronger. Kale is loaded with vitamin A, which is mostly known for eye health. Vitamin also A helps produce healthy sebum and fights free radicals, which can damage the scalp and hair.
The high amount of vitamin C in kale helps builds collagen which is highly important in hair health, growth and strength. Vitamin C also helps against free radicals and a deficiency in this vitamin can lead to hair loss or excessive hair shedding. Kale creates a healthier scalp by fighting dandruff and improving a dry scalp by moisturizing with the sebum production from vitamin A but also from the high anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory composition.
Sabrina’s morning smoothie
If you are not big on taking a lot of supplements or prefer eating or drinking your daily vitamins, kale is a great choice for your body and hair’s health.
Here’s my morning smoothie recipe. I make sure kale is a big component along with a lot of other veggies and fruits that help in keeping my hair and scalp healthy.
- 2-2 ½ cups of water
- Frozen kale (small handful”>
- Frozen spinach (small handful”>
- 1 scoop of protein powder
- 2 tbsp. of ground flax seeds
- 1 scoop wheatgrass (gotta get those grays under control”>
- 1 cup frozen mixed fruit
- 1 granny smith apple
- Honey to taste
I blend the water, kale, and spinach first before adding everything else. I blend well and that’s about it. This smoothie is simple, tasty, and great for your body and hair.
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