Q. What is biotin?
A. Biotin is a water-soluble B complex vitamin produced in our intestines as well as being obtained from foods.
Q What role does biotin plays in the body?
A Like the other B vitamins, biotin is essential for the body's metabolism of carbohydrates and fats, and for making protein. It plays a crucial part in the production of nucleic acid, the substance from which a cell's genetic material is formed.
Q. Is biotin used to treat any medical conditions?
A Horses and pigs with severe splitting hooves are helped with supplemental doses of biotin, and a study by Swiss researchers shows that this vitamin also improves the condition of splitting, frail,- soft or thin fingernails in humans, caused by a breakdown of the inter-cellular cement between the hard layers of nail tissue, Biotin may also help some skin disorders, such as seborrheic dermatitis - an oily, scaly condition of the scalp, face, chest, back, underarms and groin.
Large doses of biotin are also used to treat a rare and potentially fatal genetic inability to utilize biotin in the body.
Q. Aren't there certain shampoos which contain biotin?
A. Yes. Some shampoos do contain this vitamin, although, quite frankly, it's unlikely to do any good in this form. On the positive side, though, oral supplementation with biotin has been successful in the management of 'uncombined hair syndrome', a disorder in children that causes hair to. stick up in all directions.
Q. So biotin deficiency is a problem for hair?
A. Yes. Biotin deficiency does cause hair loss and, in people who are low in biotin, increased amounts can restore hair. But most people with hair loss are not biotin deficient, and no amount of biotin is going to restore hair in male-pattern hereditary baldness and other common types.
Q. Is biotin deficiency common?
A. No, it's considered uncommon. Studies show that most people get about 100 to 200 meg of biotin a day.
BIOTIN QUICK-REFERENCE GUIDE
RNl
No RNl, but the Estimated Safe and Adequate Daily Dietary Intake is 30 to 100 meg for men and women Sources
Liver, kidney, brewer's yeast, egg yolks, whole grains, breads, fish, nuts, beans, meat and dairy products.
Signs of Deficiency
In adults, hair loss; a scaly red rash around the nose, mouth and other body orifices; intense depression; hallucinations; sleeplessness and muscle pain. In infants, signs also include profoundly delayed development and a lack of muscle tone.
