There are connections between diabetes and hair loss. Now maybe most people would associate hair loss with just men. Well that just isn’t the case especially if you’re a diabetic. Women have the same issue with hair loss and diabetes. Men may have more hair loss issues than women but all in all it’s still a problem. Can Diabetes Cause Hair Loss?
Why is Your Hair Thinning from Diabetes?
With diabetes your body is not producing enough insulin or not using it efficiently. This is an issue because the insulin takes the sugar from the foods you eat that are in your bloodstream and delivers them to your cells to either be used as energy or stored as energy.
Excess sugar is no good for your body. So when this happens the buildup of sugar can wreak havoc on the organs inside your body including your kidneys, nerves, and your eyes. Your blood vessels are very important and when they get damaged you’re body is compromised because the vessels can’t do their job of delivering oxygen to provide your tissues and organs.
Because of this occurrence your hair follicles don’t receive the oxygen they need to flourish. Your normal hair growth cycle is compromised because of the lack of oxygen. Your hair usually will grow in three different time periods. Everyone is different.
In the first stage when growing is most active and this can last two years or even longer. Hair grows at the rat of 15-20 cm a year but goes into a dormant stage each month for just over three months. After this period, some resting hair will fall out.
What is the Answer as to Why Your Hair Falls Out?
Having diabetes diminishes hair growth and be the cause of losing more hair than you would normally. But it also means losing hair in other areas such as your legs, arms, and other body parts as well. Your hair will begin to grow again, but a much slower rate than it would normally grow at.
What’s interesting here is that you can experience hair loss as a result of diabetes, but you can also have hair loss from the medications that you take for diabetes too. The other factors that play a role here are stress you are going through if you’re battling a chronic illness. There are some diabetics who may be experiencing thyroid disease which is another factor in losing hair.
Like any other health problems you always want to discuss with your physician. Even hair loss relating to your legs and arms could indicate that your blood is not flowing properly.
If you’re a diabetic, then you are discussing everything with your doctor anyway so don’t assume that anything including hair loss would be off limits to the effects from diabetes.
If it is because of diabetes then your doctor may prescribe medication, or advise you to changing your diet and lifestyle to get control of your blood sugars. Having a reliable test monitor so that you can check your own sugars is a wise choice.
Exercise, as I’m sure you’ve hear many times before, is an excellent to get healthy and fight diabetes which in turn will aid in your hair loss issue. Once your diabetes is under control, then there should be a notice of less hair loss and more of regrowing the hair back.
Rapid Weight Loss
Okay, so you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes. One strike against you. So what happens next? You know the answer. It’s all about getting healthy again and doing what you are supposed to be doing to be and stay healthy. It’s all about eating healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and stay away from the complex carbs. You’ve heard this before. I’m sure of that. But it’s true. They are the best foods you can eat to be healthy.
So, Dr. So and So tells you about the healthy diet and exercise. You know that’s always the answer. So now you’ve been on the “diet” or just eating healthy and what happens? You lost a good deal of weight. Congratulations! Way to go!
But and there always has to be a “but” in there somewhere,right? LOL The “but” is that fast weight loss can lead to an increase in hair loss. (This isn’t your day, is it?) Okay, it’s not that bad. It’s only temporary, thankfully! I wouldn’t want permanent hair loss!
Infections
So being a diabetic, you are more at risk for infection. Your body’s immune system is affected by high blood sugar. So your body cannot fight infection totally the way it normally would. The end result is that infections can alter the growth cycle for normal and healthy hair.
Poor Circulation
Blood vessels can be damaged by diabetes. So if the organs and tissues in your body cannot get the nutrients that are required then it becomes a problem. Your hair growth can be affected because the hair follicles aren’t getting these nutrients. You need to address this.
Hormones
If your hormones are out of whack, the your hair follicles regeneration process is interrupted. So if your thinning hair is only caused by diabetes, then there isn’t much to be concerned about because it’s only a temporary problem.
As soon as treatment begins, the hormones return to a normal state and the cycle of growing hair once again begins. It might not be as fast as it originally was, but nonetheless, it will return.
Stop Hair Loss Now with These Foods & Vitamins
Oils
Coconut oil, rosemary, and pumpkin are like delicacies for your scalp. If you use coconut oil as a before and after product for grooming, you’ll find that it protects your hair against the loss of protein. An increase in hair growth is successful thanks to rosemary oil.
It does a better job than the ingredients in Rogaine and also gives you quite a bit less itching of the scalp too. A research done with pumpkin seed oil was done and resulted in forty per cent increase in hair growth. I like to use coconut oil shampoos and conditioners.
Salmon
Salmon is a protein that is marine based. Since hair is actually a protein fiber, it is necessary for you to consume protein in order to keep your existing hair strong and have the ability to grow new hair. I’m not a fish lover by any means, but I do eat salmon because of the omega 3 fatty acids which are healthy for you and especially good for a woman’s hair.
Seeds and Nuts
Seeds and nuts have been studied on the hair loss pattern of females recently. The participants took antioxidants and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and after six months 86% said they had thicker hair, 87% had resulted in an increase in hair growth, and approximately 90% came back with a result of reduced hair loss. Almonds are high in biotin and can make your hair grower thicker and faster than ever.
Spinach
Iron is important here and one particular study resulted in hair growth by adding spinach because of it’s iron content. Lacking iron will have a negative effect and will aid with hair loss. Vitamin D2 levels encourage hair growth as well and it’s found in spinach too. I happen to love spinach. It’s my favorite vegetable and I thank Popeye for that. Watching him as a kid really paid off!
Honey
Honey can also have an improvement in the appearance of thinning hair. Research was done involving patients with a specific dermatitis that included itching and hair loss and to those who administered a mixture of 10% water to 90% honey, they did indeed showed signs of improved thinning of the hair.
Avocados
Avocados keep your skin smooth because they contain high amounts of the essential fatty acids that are normally in your skin cells. Mixing some sour cream with a little avocado and apply to your scalp and hair while washing for five to ten minutes before rinsing off.
Eggs
So eggs are a great source of biotin and omega 3’s as previously mentioned. It’s the yolks that are important here, not the whites.The absorption of biotin into the body is important and too many egg whites can prevent this so stick with the yolks folks.
Oysters
Bad scalp conditions and hair loss has been linked to a deficiency of zinc. Three to four ounces is nearly 500% of your daily requirement.
Citrus Fruits
The human body requires vitamin C for the absorption of iron. You need to have citrus fruits for vitamin C. In order to have fast hair growth by keeping your hair shafts strong due to the production of collagen that helps the shafts connect strongly to your capillaries, you need vitamin C. Since your body does not store vitamin C, you need to get it by eating citrus fruits regularly.
Carrots
Carrot juice in particular aids in keeping hair roots healthy which boosts the growth of new hair. Since hair has the fastest growing tissues anywhere in your body, you need vitamin A from carrots to accomplish this.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is crucial in the health of the scalp. It promotes better hair growth and increases your blood circulation which stimulates hair growth too. Tofu, sunflower oil and cereals are a few of the many B vitamin foods to consume.
Final thoughts
Can Diabetes Cause Hair Loss? Hair loss can be a very concerning thing for some people and not for others. My dad had the problem and so did my brother and now myself too. I don’t look at it as the end of the world because it’s not, but it is something I am addressing so you may want to as well. So the answer is yes it can.
I’m hoping there’s enough information for you to make a change about hair loss. This is about hair loss treatment for men and hair loss treatment for women. Hair loss isn’t prejudice.
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Hi Rob,
Cool website!
I like the design of your website. Is simple, bright, and easy to read. There is a lot of great information in your site that i found interesting. For example I had no idea that hair can be related to diabetes. Keep up the good work.
Thanks!
The purpose here is to spread the word to help others with diabetes and in this particular case hair loss. There are many things that affected by diabetes. Most folks may not even be aware that diabetes could be a cause for losing your hair or for it to start thinning. There are wayshere to combat this both for men and women. Thank you for your comments!
Thank you for teaching me something new. Your website is very informational. I have diabetes and I didn’t know why my hair was coming out until I read this now. Your site touches on a lot of problems I am having and I want to thank you. I will be letting my doctor know.Your website is well put together .Thank you again for this most needed information.
You’re welcome and I’m glad I could help. Losing hair is just one part of having diabetes. Most people wouldn’t think that it might be diabetes causing hair loss and that’s why they’re surprised when they find out. I hope you work everything out with your doctor and that things improve for you. Thanks for your comments.!
Thanks for the invite on Diabetes. This post is very informative. I love the breakdown of the foods that more or less will help to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I was always told that eating a lot of carrots would help your eyesight. Well, I guess it’s better for you hair because it didn’t work for my eyes.
Great article. I’ll come be back for your other posts.
Hey Shaun. Thanks for your comments. Carrots and other vegetables are like medicine for us. Eating the proper fruits and vegetables are always our best bet. This is especially true for diabetes because it does have an affect on hair loss. While my hair loss began before the diagnosis of diabetes, it is still affected by the diabetes. Stay healthy!
Cheers!
~Rob