Through my years in private practice, many of my patients complained about their hair; dry hair, thinning hair, hair breakage, hair loss. Before I understood diabetes mechanism and scope, my assumption was that maybe they were over processing with chemicals/heat, over stressed in their lives, or lacking necessary nutrients. As I became more familiar with the endocrine base of diabetes, it became clear that their complaints had merit. Keep in mind that uncontrolled diabetes is a disturbance in the endocrine system (the body’s hormonal system).

Did you know that hair grows in cycles? Normal hair has a growth cycle which lasts for two to six years. Every hair on the head of a healthy person grows at the rate of one half inch each month. Ninety percent of hair is in the growth stage at one time, while the remaining 10 percent is in the "resting" or telogen phase. The hair rests for two to three months and is then shed, with new hair growing from the same hair follicle, pushing the old hair out, and replacing it. Normally, a person loses 50-100 strands of hair/day

When metabolism is normal, hair regrowth is speedy…1/2 inch/month (6 inches/year on average). But, when Met B progressively becomes worse, hair loss is noticeable as there is interference with the hair growth cycle. When that cycle is disrupted, hair that is shed may not regrow right away…or it many not regrow at all.

Why would diabetes lead to hair thinning or hair loss?

1. Uncontrolled diabetes causes hormonal imbalance and as you might be aware, hair loss is often traced to hormonal changes. Insulin is part of the endocrine system as are all the hormones of the body. When insulin is “off”, as it is in uncontrolled diabetes, other hormones are “off” as well. Hormones called androgens govern hair growth and the health of hair follicles, Uncontrolled Met B disrupts the endocrine system and can lead to androgen abnormalities. This can cause hair follicles to go dormant, shafts of hair to prematurely fall out, and the result is hair loss. When blood sugar is controlled, hair can grow back

2. Circulation problems: Blood sugar peaks and valleys adversely affect circulation that affects blood flow throughout the body, including the scalp. Nutrients are carried throughout the body through the circulation of blood. If circulation is stymied and hair follicles don’t get adequate nutrition, new hairs cannot be produced…and some follicles might actually die.

3. Diabetes Medications: Some people report that different diabetes medications cause hair thinning and loss. If you suspect your thinning is due to medication, speak with your physician.

4. Skin rashes and thyroid conditions often accompany uncontrolled diabetes and they can affect the hair cycle. Uncontrolled diabetes affects immunity and some people experience fungal infections of the skin and scalp when it is out of balance. It is imperative to treat the infection AND get blood sugar/insulin under control to solve the hair thinning.

What Foods are good for the hair?

Protein: 90% of hair is made of protein. Eggs, meat, poultry, fish/seafood, tofu, cheese, soy

Vitamin A: found in orange colored fruits and veggies like cantaloupe, winter squash, sweet potatoes, carrots

B Complex Vitamins: found in protein, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, green leafy veggies

Biotin: for a healthy scalp! Protein, soy, nuts, seeds, whole grains, brown rice, peas, lentils

Vitamin C: citrus fruits like grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes, berries, melon

Vitamin E: olive oil, nuts, avocado, legumes, nut butters

Vitamin K: protein, green veggies, cabbage, oatmeal

So…MM and DM are designed for hair health ….lots of quality protein, nuts, seeds, olive oil avocado, green leafy veggies, whole grains, citrus fruits, melon, berries

Plus: daily multi vitamin, fish oil, B complex

Plus: exercise

Plus: blood sugar/insulin/hormonal regulation

http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/heavier-female-babies-are-more-likely-to-develop-diabetes/diabetes/

I’ve attached a link to an article that deals with research into heavier birth weight baby girls being more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (see above). A fetus receives its nutrition from two sources: its mother’s diet before and during pregnancy and from the mother’s own body.

The human body is in a constant state of “turnover”…the breakdown and renewal of muscle, fat, and bone which in turn releases protein, fat, and calcium. These nutrients are fed to the baby through the placenta. A mother’s body composition and turnover ability are acquired throughout her entire lifetime. So…the mother’s turnover AND her daily nutritional intake work in tandem to provide nutrition n the womb through the placenta.

The placenta attaches the baby to the womb and captures nutrients from the mother’s blood and transports them to the baby. The placenta has three functions. 1) transfers food from the mother and waste from the baby 2) it makes hormones that signal to the mother what the baby needs; and it protects the baby from the mother’s immune system, which could attack the baby because it is "foreign" to the mother’s body because half of its genes come from the father.

If a baby does not receive enough nutrition, the oval-shaped placenta can grow in size in attempt to obtain more nutrients. For this reason, the size of the placenta can help the physician to determine if the baby is getting enough nutrition.

A mother who undergoes a pregnancy with uncontrolled Met B, gestational diabetes, pre diabetes, or type 2 diabetes can provide her baby with an overly “high octane” fuel source. This excess blood sugar will force the fetus’ pancreas to over-release insulin (over and above the normal insulin needed if the mother’s blood sugar is normal). Children of mother’s with high blood sugar are often born experiencing hypoglycemia. Their little pancreases are producing an overabundance of insulin and when they are separated from the placenta….the circulating insulin is excessive for their own blood sugar.

These children are often born close to or over 9 pounds. Their excess body fat was contributed to by the mom’s high blood sugar and the baby’s pancreas compromising by producing excess insulin (fat gain hormone).

Research is finally catching up to what The Metabolism Miracle and Diabetes Miracle have addressed for years. 10 facts about Met B that shine light on the importance of women of child bearing years being screened for Metabolism B.

1. Metabolism B is genetic. (The children born to mothers with metabolic syndrome…, or uncontrolled Met B have the propensity to develop Met B themselves)

2. Metabolism B is rooted in insulin imbalance and insulin resistance

3. Mothers with uncontrolled Met B during their pregnancy will provide higher than normal blood sugar spikes to their baby during the time in fetal development when the number of fat cells the baby will carry for life is being determined

4. The children of mothers with uncontrolled Met B during pregnancy can easily be born at a higher birth weight due to their mother’s uncontrolled blood sugar flux, high levels of insulin due to insulin resistance. They form a greater number of fat cells in utero and will carry this number for life.

5. Children born of mothers with Met B have the genetic possibility of manifesting Met B themselves.

6. Metabolism B is a progressive compilation of medical maladies including belly fat, high cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, high blood sugar.

7. If a baby was born with the gene for Met B and entered the world heavier than he/she should have…it’s a matter of time before life’s stressors will trip the gene and Met B symptoms will unfold. One of the first physiological stressors that can hasten the progression of Met B is menarche

8. The hormonal flux of menarche (a hormonal stressor) is often the beginning of the slow progression of Met B including PCOS, fertility issues, gestational diabetes, overweight/obesity, high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high blood sugar, low Vitamin D.

9. Although teenage girls are often the first to have symptoms of Met B, boys will catch up as time progresses and they experience other stressors like over consumption of carbohydrate foods, physical inactivity, high stress, illness, pain, some medications.

10. In adulthood, there is a 50/50 split women/men who have Met B.

What is the solution? It would be ideal if everyone over the age of 18 was routinely screened for Met B during a routine physical. Lab work gives objective markers for the beginning of uncontrolled Met B. Once a woman knows she has Met B, she can learn the diet/lifestyle that matches her metabolism and provides her body (and her baby’s body) with the best chance to prevent many medical maladies linked to metabolic syndrome. This could be the beginning of the end to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE

Where to begin? If low glycemic index foods at breakfast prevent a spike in blood sugar throughout the morning and after the next meal.....wouldn't it make sense for those with metabolic syndrome, pre diabetes, type 2 diabetes to focus on low glycemic index/low glycemic foods for ALL meals, as a way of life? YES.

Secondly....adding almonds to a meal does not erase the glycemic index of other foods at that meal. So....the example of adding almonds to breakfast improving the blood sugar spike of that meal does not, in itself, perform a miracle in erasing the glycemic index of other carbs at that meal. (Almonds are more of a fat than a carb)

If you add almonds to a Breakfast of a bagel with butter and jelly ,a glass of OJ and coffee with sugar and skim milk....you are going to have a heck of a blood sugar spike afterward.....from the bagel, jelly, OJ, sugar (all the high glycemic index carbs at the meal...not to mention the high glycemic load of this meal!).

If you have almonds with your light multigrain English muffin with butter, a sliced apple, and a cup of coffee with creamer and Stevia.....you are going to have a MUCH decreased blood sugar spike and tremendous satiety afterward....from the low glycemic index of the entire meal plus the lower glycemic load.

PS>> eggs or natural PB with this meal would be ideal.

Lastly, a spike of glucose does not last ad infinitum. Lower glycemic index foods decrease the spike of blood sugar that occurs within the first hour after consuming the foods, but regardless of the glycemic index...the longevity of the effect of carbohydrate in the blood stream does not extend beyond 4-5 hours. It is not the glycemic index that adds satiety when it comes to beyond the 4th hour...it's the fat/protein content of the previous meal.

At this rate, it will take over a decade for the medical community and researchers to agree that the best diet configuration for the millions who have blood sugar/insulin issues involves:

1. An initial rest period for the pancreas/liver to regain equilibrium and to quiet the metabolic mayhem of over-insulin release, insulin resistance, blood sugar peaks and valleys involved with metabolic syndrome, pre diabetes, type 2 diabetes.

2. Re-introduction of carbs based on low glycemic index, low glycemic load, and timing of carb intervals

3.After desired weight is reached and lipids, blood pressure, blood sugar have decreased to normal levels with the least amount of medication.....long term maintenance with a lifestyle that focuses on low glycemic index, low glycemic load, timed intervals of carbs, heart healthy protein and fats, and regular daily physical activity.

This study that was based around adding almonds to breakfast? Not so much.

At this rate, it will take ten years or more "research" to finally okay the best approach for the over 100 million Americans with pre diabetes and diabetes....how many will die from or have decreased quality of life from complications of the disease?

Purdue, Yale, Harvard, Duke...etc, etc. Take 2 groups of people with type 2 diabetes. Have one group live The Diabetes Miracle lifestyle and the other live whatever other diet you want to research (doesn't matter as the results will be overwhelmingly in favor of the already researched, developed, proven Diabetes Miracle). Every eight weeks for as long as you want....check weight, fat analysis, body measurements, glucose, triglycerides, LDL, total cholesterol, HDL, hemoglobin A1C, fasting insulin, Vitamin D, blood pressure. Every eight weeks, follow changes in medication doses and types.....and subjectively ask your participants about energy level, focus/concentration, mood, libido, ease of following the program

Your answer EVERY STEP of the way....objectively and subjectively will be....The Diabetes Miracle works in every category....Why work at a snail's pace with your reasearch when the answer already exists?

This was my response to the article on a Facebook group called “Americans with Diabetes.” 3/31/12

Guest Editorial: Carb Addiction Part II: Controlling the Physical Aspect of Insulin Resistance

Publication Date: 4/2/2012

http://www.diabetescare.net/flash_article.asp?id=446226

Last month I wrote about the strong, almost irrepressible urge to overeat carbohydrate-based foods, especially in people with metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. Once we start nibbling on our special favorite--whether it is freshly baked bread, potato chips, ice cream, chocolate, cookies--it becomes a struggle to stop. Here is a program to help stop these cravings and reverse the physiological effects of ingesting carbs.

In my last article, I focused on a physiological reason for carb addiction--an imbalance of the fat gain hormone, insulin. I mentioned the two classifications I give metabolism: Met A (normal insulin release), or Met B (imbalance of insulin that leads to insulin resistance and blood glucose aberrations). Those with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes have Met B.

For those with Met A

When a person with Met A eats carbohydrates, the carb-based food breaks down into blood sugar. Blood sugar is the preferred energy source for the brain and body. The brain senses the rise in blood sugar and signals the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to “open” receptors on muscle and fat cells. Once “opened” the cells can uptake sugar. Muscle cells refill sugar stores lost during exercise or physical activity. When muscle’s sugar supplies are refilled, blood sugar in excess of “normal circulating blood sugar” is stored in fat cells.

In addition to blood sugar rises from carbs, the body has a “self feeding” mechanism. If a person waits longer than about 5 hours without refueling with carbs, the brain senses a drop in blood sugar and signals the pancreas to release the hormone glucagon. Glucagon travels to the liver and requests a deposit of glycogen (stored glucose) into the blood stream to fuel the brain and body. Just as when blood sugar rises from carbohydrates, blood sugar rises from the liver prompting the right amount of insulin to open the right amount of fat and muscle cells and allows circulating blood sugar to return to normal.

For those with Met B

People with metabolic syndrome, pre diabetes, and type 2 diabetes do not respond with the correct amount of insulin when blood sugar rises from either carb intake or glycogen release. Over the years, apparently due to multiple factors including genes and stressors, they begin to release excess insulin. As a result, these people gain fat on the body and in the blood and suffer from roller-coastering blood sugar. 24/7 dips in blood sugar--from excess insulin--cause them to crave the very food that can make blood sugar rise again: carbohydrates.

The typically recommended low calorie, low fat diet for people with diabetes does not address the problem as this diet configuration is disproportionately higher in carbohydrates. This is one reason those with type 2 diabetes have trouble keeping lost weight off and controlling blood sugar.

Answering for the Uncontrolled Met B Dilemma

I promised I would return with an “answer” for the Met B dilemma, so here goes. When I meet a patient with Met B, the first order of business is to rest their overworking and overwrought pancreas and livers. When Met B is uncontrolled, the pancreas is producing (or trying to produce) excess insulin and the liver is being called upon to release excess glycogen stores. The person is living in metabolic mayhem--sometimes to the point of glucose toxicity.

The most effective way to stop the madness is to commit to an eight week period following a lower carbohydrate diet and more active lifestyle. Not just any low carb diet will do. Uncontrolled Met B is a metabolic disorder that requires special attention and accommodations. In the years of research that led up to my program, I found that every gram of carbohydrate is not created equally. Unlike other low carb diets, my program does not count every gram of carbs in every food and does not limit total carb intake for all foods to 20 grams/day. Why? Because that type of restriction is not necessary for our situation. It is very easy to learn the program and live the lifestyle as it is designed to quickly (within about four days) bring the pancreas and liver hyperactivity to a restful state.

After the first four days (the time it takes for the liver to release most of its glycogen), there are no more carb cravings, no ravenous hunger, no fatigue. Day five until the end of the eighth week is a period of fat loss, blood sugar control, energy, and improved labwork. There are three types of food that can be eaten liberally ( they are considered neutral as they do not require insulin release), those that must be temporarily avoided (these cause appreciable rise in blood sugar and insulin release) and “5 gram Counters” that are optional at meals, bedtime, middle of the night.

During this eight week period, along with the liberal intake of neutral foods and increased physical activity, the following items should be added: water/decaffinated fluid intake, green tea, omega 3 fatty acids, calcium with Vitamin D, and a multivitamin. Would you believe it is recommended to eat within an hour of wake up, an hour of bedtime, and have no gaps of over five hours without eating? If you awaken during the night, a little neutral snack actually encourages fat burning!

This program discourages frequent weighing. I ask the dieter to get a starting weight and body measurements and put them away for the entire eight weeks. At the end of the eighth week, he/she reweighs and remeasures and compares status to expected fat loss. Based on gender and starting weight and height, the dieter knows the pounds and inches that will be lost during each eight week period. It’s amazing because the pounds lost and inches lost are usually at the same place.

If a person has labs retested at the end of just eight weeks, he will find marked improvements in glucose, A1C, lipids, vitamin D as well as blood pressure and HDL. Physically he will have lost pounds and inches, and his quality of life will improve with such factors as more energy, clearer focus and concentration, increased libido, improved skin, hair, nails, less depression/anxiety, and decreased gastroesophageal reflux disease.

This style of carbohydrate rest and pancreas/liver rehab keeps peoples' carb intake low enough that the pancreas and liver are not stimulated--and instead of fat production, people are burning fat.

It is a very easy-to-live-with eight week diet/exercise program. Instead of weighing, measuring, counting out foods, a person quickly learns the foods that are neutral in terms of liver and pancreas ramifications.

At this time, a person can continue on Step 1 or may move to Step 2. The second step is the reintroduction of carbohydrate foods based on low glycemic index/low glycemic load, targeting a range of carb grams to prevent over-carbing or under-carbing, and timing of carb insertions. Using the type, amount, timing method of carb introduction allows for continued weight loss at the same rate as Step 1.

In my next editorial segment, I’ll talk more about Step 2 as it explains the importance of proper reintroduction of carbs after a period of low carb intake. This step is the time in a lower carb diet when people who have lost weight, often regain it and experience rising blood sugar levels. Step 2 is the missing link in the diet for the millions of people with Met B.

You can read the entire lifestyle program in any of Diane’s books including: The Metabolism Miracle, and The Diabetes Miracle.