As a person who has grown hair to her hips and maintained the length for 10+ years, I can tell you that I am a huge believer in salmon. I eat it often:
Check out the following quote by Dr. Perricone who is the skin doctor.
“Only one food has the reputation from time immemorial of being a “brain food”. That food is fish… you should plan
to eat a seafood meal seven days a week — and salmon at least five times a week.”
– Nicholas Perricone, M.D., “The Perricone Prescription”
Few single foods can bring as many health contributions to your diet in significant quantities as wild Alaskan salmon. Wild salmon is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids which are necessary for optimum maternal and infant health.
Main Hair & Skin Benefits of Wild Salmon
Omega 3 fatty acids
High Quality Protein
Essential Amino Acids
Vitamin A
Vitamin D
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B
Vitamin E
Appreciable amounts of calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorus.
All these benefits combine to make wild Alaskan sockeye salmon the natural choice for anyone concerned with their hair, skin or overall health.
These fish oils, referred to as “Omega-3”, are polyunsaturated. Their chemical structure and metabolic function are quite different from the polyunsaturated oils found in vegetable oils, known as “Omega-6”.
The type of dietary fat (monounsaturated, saturated, or polyunsaturated) we consume alters the production of a group of
biological compounds known as eicosanoids (prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes).
Fish, and other seafood, also offers lean, high-quality protein, as well as many other important vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin E:
Salmon is also a good source of Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants, which also include Vitamin C and beta carotene, act at the molecular level to deactivate free radicals. Free radicals can damage basic genetic material, and cell walls and structures, to eventually lead to cancer and heart disease.
Vitamin E is essential for great hair and skin.
Mercury Concerns:
Is mercury or mercury poisoning a concern?
Women who are pregnant or breast feeding, children under 12, and those who eat a predominately seafood diet need to be aware of their level of mercury consumption.
Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found at some level the world over. Fish that come from heavily polluted
fisheries, are slow growing or can attain a substantial weight are all more likely to have a higher mercury level than those fish that have shorter life spans and are harvested from clean fisheries.
Alaska Seafood comes from some of the cleanest fisheries in the world, and as a result, have lower mercury levels than most wild caught seafood.
In fact all species of wild salmon, young halibut and ling cod, Alaska pacific cod, and black rockfish are so low in their mercury content that there are no dietary restrictions on the amounts anyone can eat of these species. The links below provide mercury levels for some popular species of fish, and dietary recommendations for the consumption of fish, based on their mercury levels.