Biotin’s Health Benefits: Way Beyond Hair and Nails
Oct 26, 2023
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Discover the wide-ranging benefits of biotin beyond hair and nails. Explore its impact on multiple sclerosis, fertility, and biotin deficiency. Learn about recommended dosage and potential risks of high-dose intake.
Biotin deficiency can cause a range of symptoms including moodiness, hair loss, and muscle pain.
The recommended daily intake of biotin is between 150 to 300 micrograms and can be achieved through a diet rich in grass-fed animal products, fermented foods, fresh produce, and egg yolks.
Deep dives
Biotin's Benefits beyond Hair and Nails
Biotin has numerous benefits beyond hair and nail health. Biotin deficiency can lead to symptoms such as moodiness, cloudy thinking, fatigue, hair loss, difficulty concentrating, stomach problems, hand tremors, muscle pain, trouble breathing, and even the need for glasses. Biotin has shown to reverse the loss of taste caused by lipoic acid supplementation and improve neuromuscular problems in type one diabetes. Pregnant women are prone to biotin deficiency, which may increase the risk of birth defects. Smoking, certain medications, and insufficiently cooked egg whites can induce biotin deficiency. The recommended daily intake of biotin is between 150 to 300 micrograms, and additional biotin may be needed based on protein intake.
Optimizing Biotin Intake
To ensure adequate biotin intake, the diet should include grass-fed animal products, fermented foods, fresh produce, and egg yolks. Each 25 grams of non-collagen protein in the diet should be matched with an egg yolk or equivalent. For those with specific conditions, higher biotin doses may be required, but such high doses should be taken cautiously and periodically assessed for effectiveness. Overloading on biotin can negatively affect the mitochondrial respiratory chain and lead to cognitive and neuromuscular issues. Testing lactate levels can help determine if biotin dose is too high, and doses higher than 1 milligram should be taken separately from food and certain supplements.
Most people who take biotin take it for their hair and nails. Yet biotin does much more than this. Learn what to use it for, how much to take, and how to avoid adverse effects in less than ten minutes.