Graying of hair is supposed to be a sign of wisdom.
It appears mostly at time when people reach a certain age.
But these days, many young people start to grow gray hair that we often wonder what really causes premature graying of hair.
Graying of hair is a natural process.
When a person reaches a certain age, the production of melanin by the melanocytes declines.
Melanocytes are tiny hair pigment cells within our hair follicles responsible for the hair color pigment.
As a person ages, the activity of the melanocyte gradually declines until they stop making pigments, thus resulting to gray hair.
Although all us have a genetically determined time when we get gray hair, there are contributing factors that can lead to early development of gray hair.
This can be particularly important to know especially for most young adults where graying hair is often a grave concern.
The main reason why people get gray hair at an early age is due to heredity.
If your mom or dad gets grey hair at an early age, most likely you will also grow it at an early age.
Another cause of premature graying of hair is prolonged tension, anxiety and stress.
Often times when a person is more exposed to stress and anxiety, gray hair often appears quickly.
Other conditions that cause hair to gray earlier than normal are:

• Thyroid disorders like hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and Graves Disease
• Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia
• Vitiligo, a skin condition where the skin looses melanocytes
• Early menopause
• Smoking
• Certain drugs
• Excessive intake of coffee, tea and alcohol
• Excessive intake of fried and oily foods and spices

Now that we know the causes of premature graying of hair, dealing with them directly may help prevent it to occur.
Here are suggestions to help you prevent premature graying of hair.

• Eat protein rich foods like meat, cereal, soy and whole grains
• Eat food rich in iron, minerals and vitamin A and B such as green leafy vegetables, bananas, tomatoes, cereals and yogurt.
  
• Eat food rich in iodine like cereals and fish
• Use 'Amla' - an Indian gooseberry mixed with coconut oil and massage into the scalp regularly.
  
• Add curry leaves to a regular diet to help treat premature graying of hair as curry leaves adds strength and vitality to hair.
  
• Use henna to condition hair
• Massage coconut oil with lemon juice into scalp everyday.
  
• Massage scalp and hair with butter made from cows milk
• Take a cup of strong black tea and a tablespoon of salt and massage to hair and scalp.
  Leave for an hour and rinse.
  Do not shampoo until the next day.
  
• Proper intake of the following vitamins daily - Vitamin A, B, minerals and proteins.
  

Following these tips can help prevent graying of hair, but often time results may vary as graying of hair can be caused by many factors; factors that are sometimes beyond our control like age and heredity.
Taking care of oneself and practicing good eating and sleeping habits can help delay the process.
Not only can it benefit our over all health, keeping in shape and living a healthy life is our best defense against all health adversity.