I know, it sounds crazy. Drinking beer seems great for growing a bigger belly. But can it really help your hair and nails grow stronger and healthier?
The answer, believe it or not, is yes. Back in 2010, a study out of the National Institutes of Health found that beer has a mineral that can grow bone. This mineral is silicon. I told you about silicon's ability to grow bone on Saturday.
Since barley is rich in silicon, the researchers in this study figured beer had to be a good source as well. They found that the silicon in beer is the soluble form of orthosilicic acid (OSA), which is 50% bioavailable. That makes beer a major contributor of silicon intake in the Western diet.
The researchers looked at 100 commercially available beers for their silicon content. They found that the tested beers had between 6.4 to 56.5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of silicon. Since it takes only about 4 mg daily to help build bone, the researchers said that drinking a little beer each day could indeed help build bone. However, silicon isn't good just for building bone. It's good for building most of the tissues in your body, including your skin, hair, and nails.
For instance, a study back in 2005 showed that in just 20 weeks, taking 10 mg of a specific form of silicon improved facial wrinkles by up to 30% and skin elasticity improved by 55%. But that's not all they found. It also significantly reduced the brittleness in nails and hair. The form used in this study was silica. Silica is simply silicon that has bound to oxygen.
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But can silica really improve your hair and nails? One blogger seems to think so: "I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of a new set of fingernails. What I mean to say is that silica has truly made an impact on my nails. Normally, I don't do anything special to care for my nails, so they grow at their own rate and break pretty frequently. In the past, you'd rarely see me sporting lengthy nails on all of my fingers. Nowadays, I'm filing them down to keep them at a manageable length. Although I'm excited about this, I'm also a little bummed that I now have to include nail care into my maintenance routine. Before this my nails stayed short and didn't require any attention. Now I have to keep them filed, even, and neat. It's a great problem to have!"
The blogger went on to say that the silica also changed her hair. "Currently I have a nice new crop of growth coming in. That's all good and well, but I can't say for certain that my hair is growing any faster (although I do feel like I have quite a bit of new growth). What I will say is how pleased I am with the quality of growth."
It's not clear whether silica will help reverse male pattern baldness. But it's clear that it can help with the quality of the hair you do have. And it can reduce the brittleness of your nails. You can find silica on the Internet and at most health food stores. You also can get it by drinking a little beer every day, though the calories might be a problem for some people. Others don't like the taste or don't drink. So I suggest trying a new formula that has silica and other nutrients for thicker, fuller hair and nails. The formula is aptly named Healthy Hair and Nails. You can order this new formula by following this link.
Your insider for better health,
Steve Kroening
Steve Kroening is the editor of Nutrient Insider, a twice-a-week email newsletter that brings you the latest healing breakthroughs from the world of nutrition and dietary supplements. For over 20 years, Steve has worked hand-in-hand with some of the nation's top doctors, including Drs. Robert Rowen, Frank Shallenberger, Nan Fuchs, William Campbell Douglass, and best-selling author James Balch. Steve is the author of the book Practical Guide to Home Remedies. As a health journalist, Steve's articles have appeared in countless magazines, blogs, and websites.
Sources:
Jugdaohsingh et al - AJCN 2002; 75:887-93.
Barel et al. (2004) Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized Silicic acid on skin, nails and hair in women with photo-damaged facial skin, Skin Research and Technology, 10: 1.
http://relaxedhairhealth.blogspot.com/2011/04/30-days-later-heres-my-experience-with.html