While we all should know by now that our diet and lifestyle choices can influence our health status and appearance but here are some specifics as to what your body may be trying to you. Remember you skin is your largest organ, it’s your external guide to what is happening internally.
1. Hair loss- while typically male pattern hair loss is an issue of too much testosterone, specifically dihydrotestosterone. There are supplements that you can take to prevent conversion but often times the problem is due to a lack of zinc. In females this can also be a problem and it seen more frequently women with insulin resistance. Not only can this cause hair loss burn also facial hair growth, oily, acne prone skin and irregular menses. So controlling insulin levels, getting adequate zinc and of course good nutrition will help. Finally vitamin D…just like the grass need as sun to grow so does your hair. It shocking that in AZ so many people are vitamin D deficient but we have have been brainwashed into thinking sun is bad….sun is good, it is essential, burning your skin is bad.
2. Skin fissures, chapped lips-this is cracking on the corners of the mouth, lips and bottoms of the feet are commons but can occur in other areas. This is commonly due to the lack of B vitamins specifically riboflavin. Riboflavin is critical for so many things including the metabolism of carbs, fats and proteins in the liver it’s essential for maintains collagen levels for good hair skin and nails. So not only will a deficiency here effect energy levels but also skin health. A great supplement you can add to your diet is nutritional yeast, sprinkle it on steamed veggies or even popcorn as a snack.
3. Darks circles under the eyes-Darkened pigment under the eyes is often die to insulin resistance. The area under the eye is correlated with kidney health and when we are consuming too many sugars/carbs the kidneys really take a hit. This is why so many diabetics also end up with kidney problems. The darkened skin can also show up in other places such as the back of the neck and the arm pits. Skin tags are also another sign of insulin resistance, insulin is a hormone of growth and when its circulating in excess it starts increasing growth in other places such as skin. What can you do….my favorite recommendation, start intermittent fasting. If you need help on getting started feel free to email me or call the office to schedule an appointment.
Stay tuned for part 2-Red cheeks, brown cheeks and loss of eye brows
Mahabadi N, Bhusal A, Banks SW. Riboflavin Deficiency. [Updated 2021 Jul 21]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470460/
Özge Aşkın, Tuğba Kevser Üstünbaş Uzunçakmak, Neval Altunkalem, Yalçın Tüzün,
Vitamin deficiencies/hypervitaminosis and the skin,Clinics in Dermatology,
Volume 39, Issue 5,2021,Pages 847-857,ISSN 0738-081X,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clindermatol.2021.05.010.
Thanks for reading!
If you would like to learn more or schedule your appointment please call the office at
480-419-6996 or email me directly at stefanie@thesshh.com
Dr. Stefanie Maass PhD, FNP-C, FAARM
