Let’s get real, you need good sleep, active lifestyle, a healthy environment and eating habit to keep your mental and physical body to stay at the top of health.

But supplements—or fortified foods—may be appropriate if you:

• Are having chronic symptoms; such as massive hair loss or fall, aging faster than your age group, or have brittle nails
• Follow a diet that excludes entire food groups
• Have a medical condition that affects how your body digests nutrients
• Have a poor appetite or have trouble getting nutritious foods
• On a recovery mode following surgery or recovering from an illness

Choosing and using supplements

If you decide to take a supplement, it’s important to:

• Check the label. You can tell what the active ingredients are, which nutrients are included, the serving size, and the amount of nutrients in each serving.
• Avoid megadoses. You may experience unintended side effects. Check WHO site for daily maximum recommended dosage.
• Tell your doctor. Certain combinations of supplements, with certain prescription drugs, may cause adverse effects. Be sure to ask about dosage, side effects and possible interactions with any medications you take.
• Watch for alerts and recalls.  It’s a good idea to periodically check the MOH & FDA website for warnings and recalls.
• Report problems. If you think that a dietary supplement may have caused you to have a serious reaction or illness, stop taking it. Please update the product owner first to enable faster resolutions or actions.

Deficiencies can cause visible and dangerous health conditions, but they can also lead to less clinically notable reductions in energy level, mental clarity and overall capacity. This can lead to reduced optimal outcomes, reduced work productivity and increased risk from other diseases and health conditions.

These are preventable through guidance on nutrients and select consumption of a healthy diet, as well as food fortification and supplementation, where required.

Vitamins and minerals needed by the body in very small amounts. However, their impact on a body’s health are critical, and deficiency in any of them can cause severe and even life-threatening conditions. They perform a range of functions, including enabling the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances needed for normal growth and development.

For example, deficiencies in collagen, biotin, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin E, omega-3, iron, zinc deprive our body from essential proteins and nutrients to keep strong hair follicles and have a glowing skin.

Another important ingredient our body needs to manufacture healthy hair is L-cysteine. Cysteine is a building block of protein and it is the majority of amino acid in keratin. Meanwhile, keratin is the structural protein that makes up 89%-95% of our hair. The cysteines in keratin form disulfide bonds that contribute to the great stability of keratin’s protein structure in the hair strands. The consumption of cysteine will increase the body reservoir of this amino acid for the formation of hair’s keratin.

References:

1. Kizawa K, Tsuchimoto S, Hashimoto K, et al. (1998). Gene expression of mouse S100A3, a cysteine-rich calcium-binding protein in developing hair follicles. J Invest Dermatol 1998;111(5):879-86.
2. Goluch-Koniuszy Z. S. (2016). Nutrition of women with hair loss problem during the period of menopause. Przeglad menopauzalny = Menopause review, 15(1), 56–61. https://doi.org/10.5114/pm.2016.58776
3. Morganti, P., Fabrizi, G., James, B., & Bruno, C. (1998). EFFECT OF GELATIN-CYSTINE AND SERENOA REPENS EXTRACT ON FREE RADICALS LEVEL AND HAIR GROWTH. Journal of applied cosmetology, 16, 57-64.
4. Ablon G. (2015). A 3-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the ability of an extra-strength marine protein supplement to promote hair growth and decrease shedding in women with self-perceived thinning hair. Dermatology research and practice, 2015, 841570.
5. D’Agostini F., Fiallo P., Pennisi T., De Flora S. (2007). Chemoprevention of smoke-induced alopecia in mice by oral administration of L-cysteine and vitamin B6. Journal of Dermatological Science, Volume 46, Issue 3, June 2007, Pages 189-198, ISSN 0923-1811).
6. Hertel H, Gollnick H, Matthies C, et al. (1989) Low dosage retinol and L-cysteine combination improve alopecia of the diffuse type following long-term oral administration. [Article in German] Hautarzt 1989;40(8):490-5.
7. Stamatiadis, D., Bulteau-Portois, M. C., & Mowszowicz, I. (1988). Inhibition of 5 alphareductase activity in human skin by zinc and azelaic acid. The British journal of dermatology, 119(5), 627–632.
8. MacKinnon PJ, Powell BC, Rogers GE. (1990). Structure and expression of genes for a class of cysteine-rich proteins of the cuticle layers of differentiating wool and hair follicle. The Journal of Cell Biology, 111(6), 2587–2600.
9. Miniaci, M. C., Irace, C., Capuozzo, A., Piccolo, M., Di Pascale, A., Russo, A., Lippiello, P., Lepre, F., Russo, G., & Santamaria, R. (2016). Cysteine Prevents the Reduction in Keratin Synthesis Induced by Iron Deficiency in Human Keratinocytes. Journal of cellular biochemistry, 117(2), 402–412.
10. Mülling CK, Bragulla HH, Reese S, Budras KD, Steinberg W. How structures in bovine hoof epidermis are influenced by nutritional factors. Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia. 1999 May;28(2):103-108.