Luscious locks. Flowing tresses. Who doesn’t want to have a full head of shiny hair? Our culture certainly gives us the message that beautiful hair symbolizes youth and beauty.

However, particularly as we age, many of us find that the soft, full hair we may have taken for granted in our younger days starts to fade and becomes thinner and more brittle. These changes can happen to both men and women. They happened to me, and thankfully, I have been able to turn the situation around.

As You Age, So Does Your Hair

Of course, it makes sense that hair can be damaged as we age. Because hair grows so slowly (less than half an inch every month for many people), the hair on your head may have experienced years of sun exposure and damage from the elements. It also is affected by hormonal changes in our bodies which play a role in both hair growth, texture, and those pesky grey hairs of course!

Searching For The Fountain Of Hair Youth

What’s the solution? The beauty industry tells us the secret to beautiful hair is finding the right “products.” And it’s certainly possible to spend hundreds of dollars trying to find the perfect match.

However, no matter how many shampoo reviews you read, you can only find so much hair magic in a bottle. In fact, many shampoos and other hair products can damage your hair because they contain harmful substances.

The truth is that beautiful hair starts from within. As a result, what we put into our bodies is far more important than what we put on our hair. I learn this the hard way also. Yes, shampoo matters, but the health of the hair is mostly an ‘inside job’ – inside the body, that is.

Laying A Foundation for Stronger, Fuller, Faster-Growing Hair

To fully understand the impact of lifestyle choices on your hair, it helps to know more about its composition – the main building blocks that give hair its strength and structure.

Keratin
Hair strands are composed of a protein called keratin (in fact, so are your nails). One of the primary components in keratin is choline, an essential nutrient with many roles in the body that is found in a variety of foods such as eggs, salmon, and cauliflower. Heads up! Some women have genetics that interferes with healthy choline levels, and this often worsens after menopause. When you understand your genes, you can then supplement choline using professional-grade products and focus on extra choline-rich foods.

Biotin
Vitamin B7 (also known as biotin) contributes to the formation of keratin. Because of this relationship, it’s not surprising that scientists have found that being deficient in biotin can lead to hair loss. In fact, one study found that supplementing with biotin helped slow hair loss in women with thinning hair, leading to fuller, shinier hair as well as smoother skin after 6 months.

The Gut Health Connection to Good Hair Health

Interestingly, scientists have also found that the number of bad bacteria in our gut affects the formation of biotin. That means that beautiful hair isn’t necessarily as simple as making sure you have consumed enough biotin. Your digestion and absorption need to be working right too. A functional medicine stool test is ideal for getting to the root cause of this.

Factors that can positively influence the delicate balance of gut bacteria, and in turn improve biotin production, including managing your stress levels, keeping sugary snacks in check, and ensuring your nutrition is balanced.

Top Tips for Healthy Hair:

Now that you have a clearer understanding of the factors behind healthy hair, how can you overcome the effects of aging and environmental damage? Check out these tips for a healthy head of hair.

1. Check your hormone levels.
Cortisol isn’t the only hormone that can impact your hair health. If you’re experiencing hair loss or changes to hair texture, you should check the levels of your other hormones as well.

For example, low levels of thyroid hormone can indicate a stressed-out thyroid. One of the thyroid’s “lesser” jobs is to regulate hair growth, however, in times of stress, the body will focus all the thyroid’s energies on more important functions such as regulating the body’s temperature and metabolism. Hence thinning hair is one of many possible symptoms of lowered thyroid function.

The laboratory levels for ‘normal’ differs between the conventional system and functional medicine for the thyroid. The functional system is much more accurate – it is functional. The conventional focus on disease. Also, the conventional system does not check the parameters of the various aspects of thyroid evaluation holistically, focusing only on TSH and T4 levels – very incomplete. This is one reason in my experience that hypothyroidism is one of THE most ‘missed diagnoses in all of healthcare.

Low estrogen, which may be a sign of perimenopause or other hormonal imbalances, can also lead to hair troubles. While slower growth of pubic and underarm hair might easily go unnoticed, an estrogen imbalance can mean that androgens have a stronger effect on hair follicles, leading to thinning hair on the head, and even rogue chin hairs.

These are just a few reasons why the best start to improving your hair’s texture and fullness begins with testing to see where your hormonal levels are and ensuring you are balanced. This can become a ‘make or break’ situation after menopause, which is another reason for considering bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.

2. Make sure you consume enough Biotin.

Good sources of biotin include:

(Bonus: Biotin will also strengthen your nails!)

Be very careful with whole grains. They can be very inflammatory for many people – full of gluten, pesticides, GMOs, and processing chemicals. Quality and type matter, they are NOT created equally.

In addition to biotin, the amino acid cystine assists in the formation of keratin. Good sources of cysteine include garlic, onions, broccoli, brussels sprouts, oats, wheat germ, sprouted lentils, and eggs.

3. Eat plenty of protein.
This may seem like a no-brainer since hair is composed of protein. Keep in mind that your protein sources don’t have to be meat-based, since the protein found in plant sources are just as effective. If they are meat, only choose organic, grass-fed/raised humanely treated animals. What you eat…literally becomes a part of your body.

4. Watch your mineral intake.
One of the many roles of minerals in the body is growing, and iron and zinc contribute to keratin formation which helps your hair to grow strong.

Zinc can also protect your hair from sun damage just as zinc oxide in sunscreens can protect your skin from sunburn, and zinc helps your body flush out excess insulin too. Good sources of zinc include shellfish, beans, and seeds.

5. Reduce your sugar consumption.
When you eat a lot of sugar, your blood sugar rises. In response, your body produces more of the hormones insulin and androgens such as testosterone, which have a shrinking effect on hair follicles. That means your hair could start growing finer and more brittle. Insulin resistance (high levels and low sensitivity to insulin on the body’s insulin receptors) is a common cause of hair loss.

6. Don’t smoke.
Smoking increases the speed at which your body breaks down and excretes biotin, reducing the amount of biotin in your blood and leading to weaker hair and nail growth.

7. Avoid high-mercury foods.
Consumption of food with high levels of mercury has been linked to hair loss. Some kinds of tuna, swordfish and mackerel can all contain high levels of mercury. As a functional medicine physician, I routinely check for mercury toxicity – it is a widespread problem and easily treatable. Since it is a neurotoxin, the earlier it is detoxed, the better off you will be.

8. Boost your intake of fruits and veggies.
To protect your hair, you want to reduce the damage that can be caused by free radicals. Those are compounds that can damage your cells, and they’re often created by environmental factors and the internal processes that can be triggered by stress.

Free radicals can lead to lifeless, gray hair. Antioxidants can fight free radicals and restore your hair’s shine. Fruits and vegetables can provide the key antioxidants for healthy hair: Vitamins A, C, and E (mixed tocopherols).

9. Consider collagen supplements.
Choline, one of the building blocks of keratin, is found in collagen. Collagen can also strengthen the layer of your skin that contains hair follicles. (This layer of skin is called the dermis). With a stronger anchor point, hair is less likely to fall out.

10. Choose hair products carefully.
Many shampoos, conditioners, and styling products contain ingredients that can be hard on your hair and unhealthy for you. The reality is that many of them don’t address hair problems where they originate – in the protein structure of the hair itself. Instead, they “gloss” over any problems with superficial coverings. Plus, many substances used in hair products can be absorbed by your skin and have been linked to cancer. In addition, many are harmful to the environment. So, avoid products with sulfates, parabens, and silicones. Your hair will thank you!

If you’re experiencing issues with your hair, it may be time to test your hormones and make sure your gut health is supporting your hair goals not impeding them!

Give our office us a call we are happy to help!

Sources:

https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/109/9/djx202/4102324
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428712/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509882/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27538002
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201279/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4174066/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28813664
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509882/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428712/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=27554239

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Our dietary choices and lifestyle practices play a huge role in either maintaining balance or spiking blood sugar levels. The number of people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes is also rising rapidly in North America and it’s something we see in our practice more often than we’d like! Blood sugar imbalances can create havoc in our health.

How Does Blood Sugar Fluctuate?

Carbohydrates we eat are broken down by the body into sugar, or glucose. This sugar is then absorbed into the bloodstream (blood sugar) to be used for energy. This process is regulated by the hormone insulin, which is released by the pancreas. Any excess blood sugar unused by the body for energy gets converted to glycogen, or insulin can convert to fat that is then stored in your liver and deep abdominal areas and can also be stored outside of these areas.

It’s all smoothly orchestrated so that you have energy when you need it – as long as your insulin levels are properly balanced! But what if they’re not? That’s when we encounter blood sugar dysregulation and diabetes.

Signs Your Body is Crying for Help

Blood sugar imbalance can result in a list of symptoms that are often easy to blame on stress or aging. In fact, it can cause premature aging! These include:

Excess belly fat: When your body senses high glucose levels, it secretes more insulin in an attempt to trigger your cells to absorb the excess glucose. Insulin also encourages fat storage, especially around the belly. Unfortunately, this can create a vicious cycle, since belly fat increases insulin resistance, so your pancreas then responds by releasing even more insulin.

Mood changes: Do you regularly “crash” after a carb-heavy meal? Or do you feel shaky, irritable or “hangry” when you haven’t eaten in a while? Mood swings, including bursts of manic energy followed by rapidly depleted energy, are often in response to fluctuations in blood sugar and a diet that is rapidly spiking blood sugar.

Cravings: Another frustrating irony is that excess blood sugar leads to cravings for more carb-heavy and sugary foods, further adding to the cycle of insulin production. This tells us that not only are blood sugar levels imbalanced but there may be an underlying gut issue as well.

Difficulty concentrating: Without the energy supplied by glucose, your brain cells don’t function optimally if your body isn’t used to being able to breakdown and burn fat in the form of ketones. As a result, concentration and focus suffer – but eating something that causes glucose levels to spike isn’t the solution, since you’ll be headed for a crash. Then the crash will push up cortisol, which will push your blood sugar up again – and the vicious circle continues.

Thyroid trouble: The link between insulin and thyroid health is complex. Excess insulin can harm the thyroid.  At the same time, a healthy thyroid helps control insulin.

Female hormone imbalance: Healthy female hormones depend upon balanced blood sugar. In short, excess insulin produces increased amounts of testosterone and belly fat tissue converts excess testosterone into estrogen. This produces increased estrogen in the body which results in too little progesterone. Since progesterone is a calming hormone, too little of it means women often experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, fertility issues, and more.

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

People with diabetes experience problems with the production of insulin and the subsequent rise in their blood sugar.

Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition which prevents the pancreas from producing adequate amounts of insulin, resulting in low blood sugar levels which need to be monitored closely.

Type 2 diabetes is considered to be a “lifestyle disease”. After several years of imbalanced blood sugar and insulin levels, the body develops insulin resistance where cells don’t respond well to the insulin being released.

How to Manage Your Blood Sugar Levels for Optimal Health

As mentioned, blood sugar dysregulation and type 2 diabetes are very much a lifestyle disease and certain lifestyle factors can greatly impact how well your body manages blood sugar levels. Here are some tips for managing blood sugar for optimal health.

Avoid Spiking Blood Sugar with a Balanced Diet

The most important step for stabilizing blood sugar is to avoid processed and sugary food and eating patterns that can lead to a sudden spike in blood sugar. Different types of carbohydrates are digested and absorbed at different rates, based on a number of factors, including fat and fiber content, and the type of sugar the food contains.

Fiber slows the absorption of glucose, so including foods with high fiber content with meals helps stabilize blood sugar. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in fiber and can feed certain ‘good’ gut bacteria (may need to improve your gut health to digest it without bloating) and helps to avoid constipation. It is found in foods like cauliflower, spinach, prunes, green peas, sprouted beans, almonds, and blackberries. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance in the colon and includes foods like, lentils, chickpeas, chia seeds, flax seeds, broccoli, and avocado. Similarly, including protein with each meal helps slow down blood sugar spikes.

What is the Glycemic Index?

The glycemic index (GI) was developed to measure food’s impact on blood sugar. The higher the food is found on the index the faster it spikes blood sugar, while the foods found on the lower end of the glycemic index are more slowly digested and absorbed. Note that the glycemic index only applies to foods that contain carbohydrates.

A number of studies have found that following a low glycemic diet can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Following a low glycemic diet doesn’t have to be difficult. Along with including fiber and protein in each meal, it’s simply a matter of swapping a high glycemic food for a lower glycemic choice. Keep in mind that too much fructose, even if it is organic, can contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), so be mindful when it comes to eating high fructose fruits like mangos, bananas, and pineapples.

Be Mindful of Your Beverages

The drinks we consume have a big impact on blood sugar. That’s because drinks are easily digested, resulting in a quick shot of glucose. One study found that people who drink at least one sweet drink a day have a 26 percent higher chance of developing diabetes!

Choosing an alternative isn’t always straightforward, however. Be careful with artificially sweetened drinks, as studies have linked some artificial sweeteners with an increased risk of diabetes.

Fruit juices should also be limited because of its high natural fructose sugar content — the glycemic index for fruit juice is very high, because it lacks the fiber found in fruit.

Instead, blend up whole fruit so that you get the fiber content, and be sure to add a source of protein and fat like nut butter or avocado. The VitaMix blender is fantastic for this purpose.

Water is always a good beverage choice for managing blood sugar, since it’s important to stay hydrated so you can eliminate excess glucose through urination. When your body is aware of extra glucose, it pulls water from the rest of your body, increasing your risk of dehydration. Just make sure that you are drinking clean, filtrated water. Much of our water systems currently are contaminated with heavy metals and a variety of chemical toxins.

A Variety of Exercise and Good Sleep

Exercise helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels by increasing insulin sensitivity and making your muscles more efficient in their absorption of that glucose it needs for energy. Studies suggest high-intensity interval training is the most effective, but many people find it difficult to keep up that level of intensity on a regular basis. A combination of a form of cardio that you can maintain over the long haul, plus resistance training, is an excellent and sustainable approach.

Getting enough sleep is important to stabilize blood sugar, since regular sleep helps maintain hormonal balance and a healthy weight. It also reduces inflammation. Frustratingly, high blood sugar can interfere with getting restful sleep. Practice good sleep hygiene, including sleeping in a cool, dark room and limiting drinks of any kind two hours before bedtime. Also, late night snacking is a sure way to help destabilize your blood sugar level and disrupt your sleep – as well as increasing your likelihood of gaining excess weight.

Helpful Supplements

Herbal supplements can also complement other treatments for blood sugar management. Cinnamon is particularly promising – plus, it has the added benefit of adding a bit of sweetness without sugar. Ginger is another supplement that is easy to incorporate into your diet, is anti-inflammatory and supports digestion.There are several other natural supplements and herbs that are fabulous at supporting your cardiovascular and blood sugar regulation systems.

Always work with a functional medicine healthcare practitioner, since many factors must be considered to determine the best form of supplementation.

Prevention is the Best Practice!

The complications of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes are serious, and can include heart and nerve damage, kidney disease, and eye damage. Take steps now to understand and control your blood sugar levels – your body will thank you! If you are already having symptoms, we can help you to get to the root cause so that you can stop progression in its tracks, and even oftentimes reverse the process. Your body has amazing capacity to heal itself when given the right support.  Contact us here to learn more. Our team, including health coaches, can help you to reset your metabolism to become more fat-burning, stop addiction to sugar, and balance your blood sugar so that you can have greater energy and vitality.

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Colberg SR, Sigal RJ, Fernhall B, et al. Exercise and type 2 diabetes: the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association: joint position statement. Diabetes Care. 2010;33(12):e147-e167. doi:10.2337/dc10-9990.

Chen C, Zeng Y, Xu J, et al. Therapeutic effects of soluble dietary fiber consumption on type 2 diabetes mellitus. Exp Ther Med. 2016;12(2):1232-1242. doi:10.3892/etm.2016.3377

Vega-López S, Venn BJ, Slavin JL. Relevance of the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load for Body Weight, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease. Nutrients. 2018;10(10):1361. Published 2018 Sep 22. doi:10.3390/nu10101361

Bhupathiraju SN, Tobias DK, Malik VS, et al. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from 3 large US cohorts and an updated meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;100(1):218-232. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.079533

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes, A meta-analysis Vasanti S. Malik, SCD,  Barry M. Popkin, PHD, George A. Bray, MD,, Jean-Pierre Després, PHD, Walter C. Willett, MD, DRPH, and Frank B. Hu, MD, PHD, Diabetes Care 2010 Nov; 33(11): 2477-2483. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc10-1079

The InterAct consortium. Consumption of sweet beverages and type 2 diabetes incidence in European adults: results from EPIC-InterAct. Diabetologia 56, 1520–1530 (2013).

Cinnamon Use in Type 2 Diabetes: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisRobert W. Allen, Emmanuelle Schwartzman, William L. Baker, Craig I. Coleman and Olivia J. Phung, The Annals of Family Medicine September 2013, 11 (5) 452-459; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1517

James W. Daily, Mini Yang, Da Sol Kim, Sunmin Park, Efficacy of ginger for treating Type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials,

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