If you are losing hair quickly and you have no idea as to why you are losing them, these foods might help you. If you eat a balanced, varied, protein-rich diet that focuses on the following 5 foods, you’ll be giving your hair the TLC it needs and deserves.

1. Salmon

Besides being rich in protein and vitamin D (both are key to strong hair) the omega-3 fatty acids found in this tasty cold-water fish are the true superstar. Your body can’t make those fatty acids, which your body needs to grow hair. About 3% of the hair shaft is make up of these fatty acids, Drayer says. Omega-3s are also found in cell membranes in the skin of your scalp, and in the natural oils that keep your scalp and hair hydrated. Alternatives: If salmon doesn’t thrill you, you can also get essential fatty acids from fish like herring, sardines, trout, and mackerel, as well as avocado, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts (see below for more wonderful things about walnuts.)

2. Walnuts

These are the only type of nut that have a significant amount of omega-3 fatty acids. They’re also rich in biotin and vitamin E, which helps protect your cells from DNA damage. Since your hair rarely gets much shielding from the sun, this is especially great, Drayer says. Too little biotin can lead to hair loss. Walnuts also have copper, a mineral that helps keep your natural hair color rich and lustrous, Fishman says. Alternatives: Try using walnut oil in your salad dressing or stir-fry instead of canola or safflower, Fishman says.

3. Oysters

Oysters are rich in zinc, a lack of which can lead to hair loss (even in your eyelashes), as well as a dry, flaky scalp. Three ounces has a whopping 493% of your daily value. You can get some zinc through fortified cereals and whole grain breads, but oysters can boast a good level of protein too. “Remember, hair is about 97% protein,” Drayer says. Without enough protein, your body can’t replace the hairs that you naturally shed every day and what you do make can be dry, brittle, or weak. Alternatives: Get your fill of zinc with nuts, beef, and eggs.

4. Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a great source of the antioxidant beta carotene, which your body turns into vitamin A. “Basically, every cell of the body cannot function without enough A,” Fishman says. It also helps protect and produce the oils that sustain your scalp, and being low on vitamin A can even leave you with itchy, irksome dandruff. Alternatives: Carrots, cantaloupe, mangoes, pumpkin, and apricots are all good sources of beta carotene.

5. Eggs

A great source of protein, eggs are loaded with four key minerals: zinc, selenium, sulfur, and iron. Iron is especially important, because it helps cells carry oxygen to the hair follicles, and too little iron (anemia) is a major cause of hair loss, particularly in women, Drayer says. Alternatives: You can also boost your iron stores with animal sources, including chicken, fish, pork, and beef.

Human head hair usually grows at a rate of approximately half an inch each month with each hair growing for anywhere between 2 and 6 years. At the end of this growing period, the hair will enter its resting phase and fall out, usually to be replaced by a fresh new hair from the same follicle.

There are a number of quite common reasons why women experience either temporary or sometimes, permanent hair loss. These include female pattern baldness, stress, hormonal changes, malnutrition and chronic illness.

Female Pattern Baldness

An increasingly common cause of hair loss in women, this affliction affects approximately one quarter of the female population. It is an inherited condition and can be traced to either the mother or the father, although it is more likely to occur, if both parents carry the baldness gene.

Baldness resulting from female pattern baldness or Androgenetic, sometimes Androgenic Alopecia, does not occur suddenly, as it may do in the case of trauma or severe stress. It is a gradual thing, resulting in the hair thinning, not in patches as with males, but all over the scalp. The result is that over time, a woman’s scalp can be seen, through her remaining hair, which appears much thinner.

Stress

Many Doctors and Trichologists, cite stress as a contributing factor to female hair loss. In situations of high stress, certain chemicals such as adrenaline are released into the blood stream, which can adversely affect the sensitive hair follicles and lead to instances of hair loss. This stress related hair loss is usually temporary however and normal hair growth generally resumes, a few months after the stressful situation has passed.

Hormonal changes

Though the actual causes of female hair loss have not yet been properly identified, they are thought to be aligned with changing hormone levels, particularly those of the male sex hormone testosterone, which is also present in females.

During a woman’s life many hormonal changes will occur and inevitably, the hormonal balance is upset. An upset of this nature may be triggered by childbirth, after abortion or through miscarriage. The body sees these as very similar occurrences and cannot distinguish between them. Many of these instances will result in thinning/shedding but it is reassuring to note, that in most cases, there is an effective treatment.

Chronic illness or major surgery

Chronic illnesses or major surgery can also affect the growing cycle and condition of women’s hair. This is because the growth of hair is seen as a non-essential use of energy.

In situations where the body has to react to chronic illness and major surgery, some non-essential drains on energy resources are temporarily suspended or slowed; hair growth is sometimes affected in this way.

Sometimes the medication used to treat a patient will result in thinning/shedding. Patients suffering from depression, heart problems, arthritis and high blood pressure can experience this, as can those taking some forms of birth control and undergoing chemotherapy.

Malnutrition

Another common cause of hair loss in women is malnutrition. Faddy diets that are low in protein will, in time, cause the body to preserve what protein it has and not “waste” it, on the growth of hair. This will move the hair prematurely to the Telogen or resting stage after which it will fall out.