Vitamin B7, commonly known as Biotin, and its role in hair growth: Applications, dietary resources, and health advantages
In the realm of vitamins, Biotin, also known as Vitamin B7, has been gaining attention for its potential benefits on hair, skin, and nail health. However, it is essential to understand the facts surrounding this nutrient to make informed decisions about supplementation.
Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin that plays a crucial role in metabolizing fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. While human cells cannot synthesize it, bacteria in the body can produce it. Biotin is abundant in numerous foods, including red meat, eggs, seeds, nuts, and certain grains like wheat bran and baker's yeast.
One of the primary functions of biotin is its role as a coenzyme, supporting carboxylase enzymes. These enzymes are involved in synthesizing fatty acids, amino acids such as isoleucine and valine, and gluconeogenesis, a process that generates glucose from non-carbohydrate sources.
While biotin deficiency is rare due to its wide availability in foods and the ability of "good" gut bacteria to synthesize more biotin than the body needs, certain conditions can lead to deficiencies. These include Biotinidase deficiency, a condition where the body does not produce enough of the enzyme needed to release biotin from proteins during digestion or from typical protein turnover in cells. Other at-risk groups include those with liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, or gastrointestinal tract disorders that affect biotin absorption.
Signs of biotin deficiency can include hair loss or alopecia, scaly, red rashes around the eyes, nose, mouth, and genitals, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, ataxia (loss of control of bodily movements), and seizures. Interestingly, consuming two or more raw egg whites a day for several months can lead to biotin deficiency due to a glycoprotein called avidin in raw eggs that inhibits biotin absorption.
For those who are biotin deficient, supplementation can potentially help improve hair, skin, and nail health. Biotin is essential for the production of keratin, the protein that makes up hair, and it may help strengthen hair, improve scalp health, and promote faster hair growth over time. It also supports healthy skin by nourishing the skin barrier, reducing dryness, and may help with mild redness or oil balance. Biotin has been shown to strengthen weak or brittle nails by increasing nail thickness and durability, reducing splitting and breakage.
However, for healthy individuals without biotin deficiency, the evidence that biotin supplements provide significant further benefits for hair, skin, and nails is not robust. Improvements are more apparent when there is an underlying deficiency or specific conditions causing fragility or poor quality. Biotin also plays a critical metabolic role in energy production but this relates to overall health rather than cosmetic effects.
It is crucial to note that biotin supplements can interfere with getting accurate results from blood tests, particularly those related to heart problems. In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration warned that biotin can cause a blood test to show that a person has a low count of troponin, a marker necessary for the diagnosis of heart problems.
In summary, biotin is best considered supportive rather than a miracle cure for hair, skin, and nails in otherwise healthy people, with benefits strongest in those who are deficient or have related health issues. For the general population, a well-balanced diet is likely to supply most people's needs unless a doctor advises otherwise. Anyone considering taking biotin supplements should first check with a doctor.
- Biotin, often termed as Vitamin B7, plays a significant role in metabolizing proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
- Despite its scarcity in human cells, biotin is produced by bacteria in the body and found abundantly in foods like red meat, eggs, seeds, nuts, and grains.
- Rheumatoid arthritis patients, those with Biotinidase deficiency, liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, or gastrointestinal disorders might experience deficiencies due to impaired absorption.
- Symptoms of biotin deficiency include hair loss (alopecia), scaly skin rashes, numbness, ataxia (loss of control of bodily movements), and seizures.
- Science suggests that supplementing with biotin may help improve hair, skin, and nail health in biotin-deficient individuals because biotin is essential for keratin production, which induces hair strength, scalp health, and faster growth.
- The predictive benefits of biotin supplements on hair, skin, and nails are relatively weak for healthy individuals without deficiencies.
- The Food and Drug Administration has warned that biotin supplements can interfere with heart-related blood tests, potentially causing misleading low troponin counts.
