Foods to Boost Beard Health - Quick Guide

Growing that majestic beard of your dreams can be a full-time job; and while products and grooming can play a big part in helping you grow and maintain your beard, healthy and balanced living can make all the difference.

Like any other fitness or health related goal, a good diet regimen can help you reach your beard growth ambitions. The dieting and nutrition world can be difficult to navigate, and people tend to bounce from one diet to another as trends come and go.

Before we get into any specific foods to look for, there are some general guidelines to bear in mind:

1 - Drink water

It shouldn't be a surprise that our bodies need water to do pretty much everything. Water helps to fuel and maintain the health of our circulatory system, which takes oxygen and nutrients to our hair follicles, stimulating growth and general health.

Also, drinking water is generally a good idea for improving everything from mental function to metabolism. So go get those 8 glasses!

2 - Get those veggies

Vegetables play a huge role in beard health. Getting a good blend of vitamins and minerals from your veggies is also key. A good way to ensure this is to eat a wide array of different colours of veggies. 

Some veggies to watch for in particular are:

• Potatoes: These awesome tubers contain a clean source of carbohydrates, which your body uses to produce both testosterone and DHT (the hormone responsible for facial hair growth.) This study suggests that when one eats twice as many calories of carbs than they do of protein, their testosterone levels can rise significantly.
• Raisins: These little flavour bombs contain relatively huge amounts of the trace mineral Boron, which can help increase DHT and trace testosterone. This study showed that 100mg's of Boron daily can raise DHT by 10%, and testosterone by a whopping 28%! Luckily, around 300g of raisins will get you to that intake level.
• Brazil Nuts: These guys are packed with selenium, a great mineral for healthy hair growth. Just 2 nuts a day can give you your daily suggested intake of selenium, ensuring that you're not deficient in this important nutrient.

3 - Meet the right meats

Finally, meats and animal products can play a significant role as well. The essential proteins and other nutrients play a huge role in building a healthy body, and a healthy beard as a result.

Some to keep an eye out for are:

• Eggs: Loaded with biotin, an essential vitamin for hair growth, eggs are a superstar for boosting beard growth as well. They also contain good amounts of cholesterol, which helps to produce testosterone, and the fats present in eggs are combined in a great ratio for production of both testosterone and DHT.
• Beef and Red Meats: Beef and other red meats are good sources of saturated fats, which is the main fatty-acid required to synthesis testosterone. Be careful with overconsumption of these guys though!
• Animal Gelatin: This can be a bit harder to come by, but gelatin and other connective tissue is awesome for beard health. Organ meat and connective tissue contains more Glycine and Proline than muscle meat does, and these two collagen proteins are essential for production of hair, skin and nails. One great way to get more connective tissue into your diet is to make your own stocks. It's pretty easy to do, and the result is much better than store-bought. This video shows you the basics of stock making!

As with any dietary changes, if you plan to seriously alter your daily diet, or decide to invest in some supplements, consult your doctor first. They'll be able to give you more advice on the course that you're considering, as well as give some pointers for success.

If you have any Beard Growth recipes, I'd love to see them below!

Stay Awesome,

Tyler