Keratin rich foods are the nutrient dense foods that contain biotin, zinc, vitamin A, and L-cysteine. Keratin is present naturally in many vegetables and one can incorporate it into their diet with a variety of food groups. Learn more about keratin rich food and their benefits in this blog.

What is keratin

Keratin is a kind of protein that maintains your hair structure, nails, skin, and internal organs’ linings. It is beneficial for your hair growth, bones, skin, hair, eyes, and other body tissues. There are some nutrients that should be included in your diet for keratin production and synthesis. Keratin containing food promotes hair growth and keeps our skin healthy.

Keratin has a high cysteine content that varies from 7% to 20% of its total amino acid content. There are 2 types of keratins: type I (acidic) and type II (basic). It majorly strengthens the hair shaft and is involved in hair maintenance and hair health.

Benefits of Keratin

Much like protein, Keratin containing foods also play a crucial role in cell formation and development. It is present in our nails, hair, skin, and body cells. We have listed some of the primary benefits of keratin rich foods below:

  • Growth and repair: Keratin enriched food

    helps in the growth and repair of the body’s cells.

  • Keep nails and hair stronger: Foods rich in keratin and biotin

    help in the development of your hair and nails and keep them healthy. Keratin rich diet is often suggested to prevent hair loss, skin improvement, and the formation of new hair and skin cells.

  • Regulation of cells and tissues: Keratin content food

    helps in the regulation and maintenance of body’s cells and tissues. It also assists cells in migrating, growing and reproducing.

  • Cell formation and growth:

    Keratin protein rich foods promote cell formation and growth of new cells, thus facilitating the body's overall growth and development.

  • Wound healing:

    Keratin helps in wound healing and speeds up the process of healing.

Hence, there are multiple keratin benefits that can be leveraged if you include a good mix of keratin-rich foods in your diet. It not only makes our cell tissues stronger and more resilient, but also helps in reducing the friction between the tissues. Keratin supplements also boost keratin formation in the body, which is beneficial for our overall health.

Keratin containing food

There are various Keratin rich foods for hair growth, like eggs, garlic, etc., that promote keratin production in your body and facilitate growth and development.

  • Eggs:

    Eggs help in the production of keratin naturally in our body. Egg yolk is loaded with protein and is a good choice for those who want glowing skin and shining hair.

  • Onion:

    It has antioxidants that convert to L-cysteine when digested. It also contains vitamin C, zinc and B vitamins that are essential for keratin formation.

  • Sweet potato:

    It contains vitamin A, biotin, and zinc: an ultimate mix that helps in the formation of keratin in your body.

  • Garlic:

    Garlic is a great source of N-acetylcysteine that converts into L-Cysteine and aids in keratin formation. Besides this, there are other nutrients that are found in garlic, like manganese, vitamin B6, and vitamin C, that facilitate keratin production.

  • Seeds:

    Sunflower seeds have high biotin content and are used heavily in the production of natural hair serums and medicines for hair loss prevention.

  • Mangoes:

    Vitamin A and C are found in abundance in mangos. These nutrients play a vital role in the production of keratin in the body.

  • Carrot:

    It has high vitamin A content, zinc, and vitamin C, which helps in keratin formation in the body.

  • Salmon and beef:

    For non-vegetarians, there’s no shortage of keratin rich foods. However, options like salmon and beef are remarkably beneficial for health and are loaded with many minerals including biotin. 

  • Kale:

    A leafy vegetable with a substantial amount of vitamin A to facilitate keratin synthesis, kale is often regarded as a leafy cabbage as well. It helps in stimulating collagen positively to ensure proper maintenance of skin.

Thus, Keratin is a cysteine rich protein that has an added advantage over simple amino acids and its derivatives.

Eating a handful of sunflower seeds daily and including an optimum amount of Keratin rich fruits and keratin rich vegetables in your diet can meet the keratin requirements of your body.

From consuming a sunflower and oats energy bar to everyone’s favourite sunflower jaggery chikki, there are countless ways to keep keratin production up in your body.

For vegetarians, keratin rich vegetarian food options are also available, like kale, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. A well-planned keratin rich meal option can include sautéed kale, kale potato sabji, kale and chickpea salad; for non-vegetarians salmon curry or roasted salmon are the healthiest options beside roasted beef liver or beef wrap.

Wrapping Up

Keratin is an essential protein required for maintaining hair growth and skin care. There are certain meals that provide keratin to our body as mentioned above. Always make sure to include well balanced meals in your diet that help maintain healthy keratin levels in your body and also fulfil other nutrient requirements.

Keratin production depends on the amount of keratin rich foods we are eating and including in our diet. There are also various products in the market that are keratin enriched to provide enough keratin. Choose them wisely and consume in moderation.

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