The link between chronic conditions and your hair
Chronic health conditions are becoming more and more common. But what you might not realise is that your chronic condition could be driving your hair-related struggles.
After all, hair is not just superficial – it’s a real and functional part of your system! But because it is a lower priority than other body systems, it’s often one of the first to suffer when the body is burdened.
So if you’ve been wondering why your hair has been more problematic since your health issues popped up? There are several key factors we need to think about.
The link between chronic conditions and your hair
Inflammation
Whenever we think about chronic conditions, inflammation should always be the first consideration! As a reminder – small amounts of acute inflammation are essential for wellbeing. But when we’re talking about chronic conditions, the type of inflammation is low-grade and chronic.
Chronic inflammation leads to a host of problems, including:
Production of stress hormones
Depletion of vital nutrients and antioxidants
Reduction in critical mechanisms such as the digestion/absorption of nutrition and elimination of waste products
Imbalance of other hormones such as thyroid hormones and sex hormones
And unfortunately, your hair health can easily be influenced by each of these problems.
Impaired gut function
The root of many health issues is found in the digestive system. This is because the gut is the gateway for the majority of our nutrition, as well as hosting the microbiome (gut microbes) and a large percentage of the immune system as well!
Your gut function will affect the nutrients you absorb and synthesize, your inflammation levels, and your blood sugar regulation. So poor gut health can have a huge impact on your hair!
But the upside? Because gut function plays a key role across whole-body health, improving your gut health can lead to benefits for all chronic symptoms (not just your hair concerns!)
Low nutrient levels
Nutrition is another important consideration when it comes to hair health. If you are getting plenty of variety & nutrition through your diet and are generally healthy, your hair reaps the benefits.
But unfortunately, chronic health conditions will almost certainly lead to nutrient deficiencies. Which nutrients are of greatest concern can depend on the condition and the mechanisms. But when it comes to hair health issues, I like to investigate:
Iron
Zinc
Iodine
Vitamin V12
Essential fatty acids
Learn more about how key nutrients influence your hair health here.
Blood sugar dysregulation
Although it’s not seen in all chronic conditions, an imbalance in blood sugar levels is common in many of the lifestyle-related chronic conditions. And unfortunately, this can have consequences for your hair health as well.
Why is this? It comes back to how blood sugar regulation influences thyroid hormones. Sudden changes in blood sugar levels (spikes and drops) and excess carbohydrate intake can change how your body converts T4, or thyroxine. Instead of converting it to the active form of T3, it instead converts to reverse T3.
As a result, your hair follicles end up with insufficient active thyroid hormone to function properly. This causes slow growth, increased hair loss and brittle, dry hair.
Medication use
It’s not just the chronic condition itself that can be problematic for your hair! We also need to take a look at any medications you are taking to manage your condition.
Hundreds of medications list hair-related problems as potential side effects. Some of the more common ones used in chronic health management include:
Antidepressants
Antibiotics
Oral contraceptive pill (and other hormonal birth control options)
Blood pressure medications
Steroid medications
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs)
Gout medications
Now of course, this doesn’t mean you should stop taking your medications. But you may like to discuss options with your healthcare team about alternative medications and/or taking the minimum dosage for your symptom management.
And of course, you can always take diet and lifestyle steps to support your chronic condition so you need less medication in the long run!
NOTICED BRITTLE, THINNING HAIR, BREAKAGE OR HAIR LOSS DUE TO YOUR THYROID STRUGGLES?
This can be an incredibly stressful group of symptoms and significantly impact your self-esteem & mental wellbeing.
But there are steps you can take to improve your hair health. That's why I've created a new FREE resource for you: Thyroid Hair Loss!