Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Connection Between Diabetes and Hair Loss

By Andy Rowde

If you have a diabetes condition and suddenly start losing your hair, there is a possibility that you may be experiencing a diabetes-related hair loss. A careful look at the basic information and facts about hair loss and diabetes may help us understand better why there might be an actual connection between the two.

Hair Facts

Let us first examine and understand both the human hair and diabetes' basic facts to help us better understand how the two may be related. Although the human head hair seemingly has no obvious function other than for appearance, it is still stands to benefit or suffer from anything that is going in on any other parts of your body.

Hair grows from a root and follicle located underneath the human scalp. The hair grows and is nourished by through the bloodstream which transports nutrients from the body to the hair roots and follicles. If there your body does not have sufficient nutrients or does not have proper blood circulation, hair growth and health is also affected.

Hair Loss

It is also possible that there is really no direct link between diabetes and hair loss in some cases. There are several reasons why people lose their hair and it is crucial to be able to arrive at its cause through the process of eliminating other possible causes of the condition.

Another factor of hair loss is through heredity and genetics. An estimated 95% of people suffering from hair loss have androgenetic alopecia, a hair loss condition brought about by hormonal activities in the body as well as by the individual's genetic make-up. Since both androgenetic alopecia and diabetes are hereditary, it may be harder to pinpoint which is causing your hair loss. A look at balding relatives who are also diabetic may point to the direction that it is the diabetic condition that is causing the hair loss and not the androgenetic alopecia condition.

Hair Loss and Diabetes

The relationship between diabetes and hair loss can be determined best by taking a careful look at the nature of diabetes and how it affects the body. Diabetes is a condition in which the body neither produces insulin nor respond properly to it. When this occurs, glucose cannot always enter the body cells to provide energy that the body needs. Since glucose has been rejected by the body's cells and therefore has no place else to go, it will start collecting in the bloodstream. If you have high blood sugar levels, fat deposits may also begin to attach on blood vessel walls, consequently clogging blood passageways which results to improper blood flow and poor blood circulation.

As mentioned, the hair's key for growth and nutrition lies in the bloodstream. Having poor blood circulation could mean poor hair health. In addition to this, poor blood flow can also result to skin irritations and infections among diabetics. And since scalp is still part of our skin, it is also stands to suffer from poor blood flow, resulting to hair loss.

The Diet

If your hair loss is caused by diabetes, you may have harder time dealing with it than an ordinary hair loss condition. This is because in an ordinary hair loss, the condition may be treated with nutritional supplements and proper diet. However, if your hair loss is caused by diabetes, you will have to consider following a diet that is more proper as a diabetic rather than a person suffering from a hair loss. In such case, you will have to consult your doctor for a proper dietary plan before tackling your hair loss condition. - 16650

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