Nutrafol's previous post talked about L-Methionine as an ingredient but what exactly does the substance do for your hair? Here is the answer to that question.
What does L-Methionine do for your for hair?
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A recap of what L-Methionine is
L-Methionine is something known as methionine and it is classified as an essential amino acid. And although methionine may not be the most well-known nutrient out there, researchers have discovered its many uses. It is important for the functions of many different types of cells throughout your body.
and a recap of what it is used for…
The amino acid is taken as a supplement for different reasons and these are the most common ones:
- For some health conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease and colorectal cancer.
- Improving bone strength
- Weight loss
But maybe the most important thing it is used for is…
For healthy hair, skin and nails. Since L-Methionine is a building block protein tissue, many people take it to help their hair grow, their nails stay strong, and their skin remain youthful and healthy.
So let’s talk about how L-Methionine works for your hair, skin and nails
This amino acid together with L-Cysteine, B complex vitamins, and other nutrients helps your body to manufacture new protein tissues. L-Methionine can not be manufactured directly by your body, so to be able to get your necessary supply, you need to depend on your dietary sources and supplements.
The key element of L-Methionine is sulfur. To manufacture keratin in the hair shaft, you need the sulfur. And methionine is one of four amino acids that contain sulfur (L-Cysteine being the other one). Methionine is also one of only three amino acids that help your body to build creatine, a protein that is necessary for your muscle growth and energy.
The benefits of L-Methionine
- When you include methionine in your diet, your body is able to manufacture keratin. Keratin is the main material of the hair shaft, one of the proteins that are essential for your appearance. Methionine also helps to smooth your hair and give it more shine. So if you are looking for a natural why to bring out the shine in your hair, L-Methionine is a great why (goodbye chemicals!)
- Methionine helps your body to create new protein that makes your nails stronger and more resistant to breaking.
Methionine helps improve the skin tone by boosting your collagen production. Collagen, like keratin, is a type of protein. And this becomes more important the older you get as your skin can not produce new skin cells. So feeding your body with some much needed L-Methionine and L-Cysteine makes this whole process much easier. Taking supplements with methionine will help to keep your skin and hair looking fresh and smooth.
L-Methionine plays an important role to the health of your hair, skin and nails so taking this sulfur-rich compound is something that you should consider including in your everyday diet. Taking a beauty supplement that contains L-Methionine will boost the availability of protein building blocks that your body needs. This will ultimately support the healthy growth of beautiful hair, nails and skin.
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Photos by: Marciaaa. and Bharat Kumar via Flickr.