Karen’s Free Health and Fitness Tips

Diabetes is a disease that strikes more and more people every day. Most people do not realize that thinning of the hair or hair loss is one of the early symptoms of diabetes. With early detection and treatment, hair loss as well as other complications can be avoided. There are many factors leading to the development of diabetes, including stress. Diabetes affects the body on every level and can cause excessive anxiety which is a well known contributor to hair loss.

Diabetes occurs when the body is unable to produce enough insulin to help the body metabolize carbohydrate. One issue face by individuals with diabetes is the increased potential for problems with their skin. This is due to poor blood circulation and elevated blood sugar levels. They are more susceptible bruising and injuries that are difficult to heal. The recovery rate for diabetics tends to be slow including hair re-growth. This in turn leads to a noticeable hair loss. In addition, diabetics are susceptible bacterial and fungal infections of the scalp which can promote hair loss as well.

Hair loss in women differs from hair loss in men in the following ways:

Signs of hair loss in men:

Receding hairline Moderate to extensive hair loss, particularly on the crown of the head

Signs of hair loss in women:

General thinning of hair all over the head Moderate hair loss on the crown of the head or at the hairline

In summary, hair loss in women can start around 30 years of age and usually involves overall thinning rather than a bald patch. It often becomes more noticeable around 40 years of age.

Here are six causes of hair loss in women which can help you identify the possible cause and decide whether to just wait for the hair to regrow, or if it is a more serious reason, get professional advice and take appropriate action:

#1. Hair loss in women is often connected to pregnancy. Three to six months after delivering a child, many women notice a degree of hair loss as the hair goes into a resting phase because of the physiological impact of the pregnancy on the body.

In recent times, hair loss has become a common condition, especially among men although, the exact cause of hair loss is still a mystery. Some research studies have linked hair loss with the lack of iron, the condition of the skin on the scalp, an excess of the hormone DHT and probably an under active thyroid gland.

The hair, although it is thought of as dead, is a good indicator of general health and it is the first indicator that shows signs of ill health or lack of essential vitamins and minerals within the body. Oily hair can be a sign of vitamin B deficiency, brittle or dry hair can be an indicator of essential fats deficiency, dull hair color and poor growth can be signs of zinc deficiency and hair loss can be an indicator of lack of vitamin C, vitamin B1, iron and lysine. Grey hair comes with age and has no link to body health or nutrition and in most cases nutrition cannot be used to reverse it.

Although certain types of medicine are known to slow down the process of hair loss and even help with some form of hair re-growth, experts say that natural hair loss treatment can yield some of the best benefits for anyone concerned about the health of their hair.

Are all hair loss shampoos effective? If you have an itchy scalp, what is the first thing that your instinct tells you to do? In hope of relieving the rather irritating itch, you would grab a bottle of shampoo in a hurry and apply the contents to your scalp. But what would your instinct tell you to do in the case of drastic hair loss? Your natural instinct would be to act in the same way. To locate an available bottle of hair loss shampoo with the hope of regenerating the growth of your hair. As humans, we have been conditioned into viewing shampoos as a cure for all that plagues our hair. As a result, we search for shampoos to rectify the complications that we experience with our hair. This is simply human nature.

It is considered normal to lose 50 to 100 strands of hair per day, a noticeable amount. However, it is considered abnormal to lose 1,000 strands of hair per day, thus this being a result of massive hair loss. It is certainly advised to purchase a special shampoo for cases such as this, rather than an ordinary daily shampoo.

As you grow older, you may begin to notice side effects. Chances are, you will soon notice the ever dreaded effect of hair loss, if you haven’t already. Of course, ways to fight or hide it have come about through different solutions, such as drugs and wigs.

Unfortunately with drugs come unwanted side effects and wigs/hair replacement therapies can become quite expensive. But, rest assured there is another way: herbal remedies. Between gingko biloba, green tea, and he shou wu, you’re sure to find something that’s right for you, as these natural alternatives result in the best hair loss treatment.

Hair grows from the hair follicle. Hence, when the hair follicle is healthy and stimulated, it prevents hair loss, while promoting hair growth. Gingko biloba is believed to increase blood circulation to the brain and skin. This increased circulation the sends out nutrients to the hair follicle. Herbalists suggest 3 doses of 120 to 160 mg of the dry extract herb.

There are numerous reasons why a person would start to lose their hair even at a young age. One reason is that there are hormonal changes occurring in their body, another is because they are eating the wrong kinds of foods. For some the reason can be that they are under extreme amounts of either mental or physical stress. Whilst the other reason could be that they have some medical condition. One such condition that seems to have a connection with hair loss is thyroid glands not working properly.

Below we look at the way in which a person’s malfunctioning thyroid gland can affect how a person’s hair grows. Also in this article, we look at what one can do in order to tackle hair loss problems associated with this kind of medical condition.

If a person has hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism then the chances of them suffering from premature hair loss is greatly increased. This is because both of these medical conditions work in such a way that they slow down and in some cases halt the process that allows hair regrowth.

When you think of hair loss it’s natural to assume that it’s a condition that predominantly affects men. Some experts however suggest that as many as one in four women will experience hair loss at some time in their lives. So why don’t we see and hear more about it? Perhaps the answer has something to do with one or more of the following:

- Women are better at disguising hair loss.

- Women’s hair loss is generally less extensive in terms of severity.

- Women’s hair loss tends to be spread evenly over the head rather than concentrated in one or two spots.

So why do women lose hair - are the causes very different to those that result in male baldness? There are probably three common reasons for hair loss in women:

1. Female pattern baldness - believe it or not, most women affected by hair loss lose it for the same reasons as men. They suffer from androgenetic alopecia which is a reaction to male hormones in the body, specifically the conversion of testosterone into the hair-unfriendly DHT. In the case of women, pattern baldness may start later and the effects may be less extreme due to the influence of female hormones, but the condition is nonetheless the same as that found in male pattern baldness.

Getting a good hair loss product that works may be a difficult task for some people. It is stressful enough in finding a good hair loss product for someone who suffers from hair loss. Nevertheless, you better stop this kind of worry because it will only perpetuate the loss even further.

Stay calm and start to do your research and comparison until you get a product that works for your type of hair loss. You can always check out the local drug store by yourself if you prefer. You can browse the store alone or even ask for suggestions from the pharmacist. There are many types of hair loss prevention products on the market nowadays, so you may be in for some trial and error before you can come up with a solution that works for you.

Of course you can still try to consult some experienced professional, or a dermatologist. Some doctors may even be able to provide you with a sample hair loss product. This will be a better way for you to find out the hair loss product that works best for you.

Hair loss and menopause are often times directly related in women. The most common of the reasons for why this would happen is that the thyroid gland is not working properly during menopause causing the hair loss.

The thyroid is not the only culprit for why a woman would start to lose her hair. You may see that your hair is falling out because of hormone levels that have begun to change, having it either increase or decrease. For others it may have something to do with being under an extreme pressure and having elevated stress levels due to that.

Another reason as to why a woman would start to loss hair during menopause would be that she is taking a medication, this may well affect the way the body functions. The medications may be causing increases or decreases in certain hormones, thus making the hair more apt to fall out.

However, the actual cause of hair loss during menopause is still not yet well defined. If you do experience a sudden onset of hair loss, you should look closely over what has transpired over the past couple of months.

According to a recent survey, more than 85 million of men and women in the U.S. alone experience progressive hair thinning, which gradually leads to baldness. This is the most common form of baldness called androgenic (sometimes androgenetic) alopecia, also known as male-pattern baldness or female-pattern baldness (in males and females respectively.) This article will primarily deal with male-pattern baldness (although the names are similar, the causes of baldness in males and females are slightly different.)

When male-pattern baldness developes, the hair constantly gets thinner and thinner until it is gone. The primary cause of it is the human hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT.) When there is too much DHT in the scalp, it binds itself to the hair follicles blocking the blood supply and preventing their growth. As time passes, the follicles, missing the necessary nutrients, shrink and the hair shaft width is decreased. As a result of this, the hair gets thinner. When the hair shaft becomes too small, no new hair can grow from the follicle.

Although there are such prescription drugs as Finasteride (marketed as Propecia), which claim to reduce the level of DHT, they are not the best solution to the problem of baldness. Being synthetic chemicals, the prescription drugs often have serious side-effects (e.g. there are documented cases of erectile dysfunction and gynecomastia among users of Finasteride.)