US-based diabetes expert Kenneth Harless says that hair loss on the lower limbs and extremities can be a sign of diabetic neuropathy, which is when the disease damages nerve cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Numbness in the hands and feet is one of the most common signs of the disease, which affects 5.8million Britons and 38.4million Americans.<\/p>\n
In a video <\/a>posted on TikTok<\/a> to his more than 180,000 followers, he explained: \u2018It takes strong circulation to get that blood all the way to those capillaries in the hair in your toes and feet.\u2019<\/p>\n He continued: ‘When your body develops insulin resistance (it) damages circulation patterns all the way to the nerves and the blood vessels at the hair follicle base.<\/p>\n ‘This will cut off nutrients to your skin and hair follicles (causing hair loss).\u00a0<\/p>\n So, he warned: ‘The higher the diabetic neuropathy the person had, the more loss of hair on their distal (the part farthest from the centre of the body) feet and toes.’<\/p>\n The diabetes expert warned that hair loss on the lower legs and feet can be a sign of the disease<\/p>\n His claim is backed up by a 2019 study of 107 patients, which found hair loss as a reliable indicator of nerve damage due to the disease.<\/p>\n Other symptoms he said may appear after the hair loss include brain fog, wound healing issues, vision loss, and kidney damage.<\/p>\n The diabetes expert, who has suffered from insulin resistance himself, now shares tips to overcome blood sugar, cholesterol and belly fat issues on social media.<\/p>\n It comes as the number of people in the UK suffering from diabetes has reached a record high\u2014especially in the under 50s.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Diagnoses among the under-40s rose by 23 per cent between 2016\/17 and 2020\/21 but by 18 per cent among those aged 40\u00a0and over.<\/p>\n Almost 4.3million people were living with diabetes in 2021\/22, according to the latest figures for the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are now around 3.78million people living with type 2 diabetes in the UK, of which 148,344 are under 40.<\/p>\n There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease diagnosed from birth, while type 2 is when the body struggles to produce enough insulin later in life<\/p>\n It comes as cases of diabetes in the UK reaching a record high amid the nation’s obesity crisis<\/p>\n If you experience any of these symptoms, you should make an appointment with your GP who can arrange a blood test to check how high your blood sugar levels are.<\/p>\n Type 2 diabetes can damage your blood vessels, causing potentially fatal complications like coronary heart disease and stroke.<\/p>\n The leading causes of type two diabetes are lifestyle factors like a poor diet, obesity and a lack of exercise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other symptoms of type 2 diabetes are increased thirst and urination, excessive hunger, fatigue, and losing weight without trying to.<\/p>\n In some cases, people will be diagnosed with prediabetes\u2014which is when your blood sugar levels are high, but not yet enough to be diagnosed with the condition.<\/p>\n The main treatment is to make lifestyle changes such as eating a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, wholegrain foods and pulses like lentils.<\/p>\n However, some people who need medication may be offered metformin, which lowers the amount of glucose (sugar) in their blood.<\/p>\n In a bid to tackle the obesity crisis in the UK, the government recently allowed GPs to prescribe weight loss medications.<\/p>\n This includes Mounjaro, which has long been hailed toe ‘King Kong’ of slimming jabs, despite initially being developed as a diabetes medication.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, US researchers found those on the injections typically lost a fifth of their body weight in just over a year.<\/p>\n However, in recent weeks there has been growing concern over the side effects of the ‘quick fix’ medications.<\/p>\n Last month, the UK’s drug watchdog found weight loss jabs were potentially linked to more than a hundred deaths.<\/p>\n A total of 111 deaths were logged with the regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), up to and including May 29.\u00a0<\/p>\n None of the fatalities, which have all been reported since the jabs were licensed for use in the UK, are proven to have been caused directly by the drugs.<\/p>\n However, health chiefs tasked with policing the safety of medicines admitted reports of side effects indicate ‘a suspicion’ they may have been to blame.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/100104443-14884721-image-a-17_1751966805589.jpg\")
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