Why does hair turn grey?

The color of hair - black, blonde, brown etc. - is determined by a pigment called as Melanin which is produced at the root of our hair follicles. Because of a variety of reasons the production of Melanin can stop. When this happens the hair loses its color and shows up as grey or white. One important and natural reason for hair to become grey is ‘age’.  As we grow old, the cells which produce melanin die. This unwanted milestone is achieved by different people at different time depending on genes, the legacy we carry from our parents. This is why some children develop grey hair at a very early age. 

Other than aging, the production of melanin can impede because of:  

• Lack of nutritious food, especially vitamin B. In some cases eating well balanced food also may not help as our body will not or have lesser ability to absorb few of the required vitamin.
• Ailments like thyroid, anemia, poor functioning of liver or kidney.
• Stress. Still a debated issue but few research reports indicate that stress can damage the cells which produce Melanin.   

The best and easiest way to avoid grey hair is to eat good well balanced food, abstaining from smoking, and eating tobacco, avoiding stressful thinking (easily said than done!). 

References: All above information is obtained from following sites: 

• http://www.zippy-health.com/grey-hair-notable-pointers-regarding-infant-greying 
• http://www.wisegeek.com/why-does-hair-turn-gray-as-we-age.htm    
• http://hubpages.com/hub/What-Causes-Hair-to-Turn-Grey-Vitamin-Remedies-for-Grey-Hair    
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1192561/Its-official-stress-really-does-make-hair-grey-protects-cancer.html#ixzz1Qgr9BLBq