The nutritional deficiencies currently suffered by an unhealthy diet make the levels of essential vitamins for good body function too low. The skin, hair, and nails are the first to be harmed by bad habits. Hair loss, loss of shine, and color are some of the problems that can make you look for all kinds of solutions, including biotin consumption, but is this really how this essential vitamin should be incorporated with supplements?
If you want to know this and much more, continue reading this FastlyHealarticle. In it, you will find everything you need to know about how to take biotin for hair, its benefits, the recommended doses, its side effects, and what foods they provide you naturally from this critical substance.
Table of Contents
Biotin benefits
Biotin, also known as vitamin B7 or vitamin H, is a substance that is present within the cells of the human body in minimal amounts but enough to perform certain essential functions :
- Proper metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
- Keep the skin in good condition (its lack can cause dermatitis, especially near the eyes, nose, and mouth).
The lack of biotin can occur in the following cases:
- People with the habit of smoking.
- In pregnant or breastfeeding women, if their diet is not adequate.
- As a disease in the newborn (an error in metabolism), the child will suffer alopecia, conjunctivitis, hypotonia, neurological deterioration, and shallow breathing.
- A person fed for a long time with a tube, their nutritional contributions being very deficient.
Among the benefits of biotin for hair, we can mention:
- Keep your growth.
- Make it thick, firm, and not easy to tear off.
- Keep its natural color.
How to take biotin for hair: dosage
As has been said, biotin is usually found in the body, and its levels are easily maintained based on a varied diet rich in foods that contain it.
The recommended daily values of biotin vary according to age, gender, and other parameters (for example, pregnancy). Still, it is suggested that to maintain normal levels. The consumption should be between 5 and 35 micrograms per day.
There are no laboratory tests that can determine how much biotin is in the body, which is why a professional will be guided somewhat by the symptoms you suffer.
Biotin for hair: dosage
When your doctor tells you to take supplements with biotin, the indicated dose is 5 to 20 micrograms per day in addition to a healthy diet. In young children, the amount ranges from 7 to 12 micrograms daily.
There are pills or tablets of 5 and 15 milligrams (higher than recommended dose), and their consumption will depend on what your GP indicates, depending on your particular case. It is suggested that if biotin is needed, it is incorporated alone and not associated with many other vitamins (such as the one that comes in vitamin complexes). Since the substances are not needed, the body will eliminate them due to an overload of its excretion systems.
The biotin supplement should be taken with meals to facilitate its absorption.
There are also some topical formulations (that is, applied directly to the hair), such as biotin ampoules, which contain other substances in addition to this vitamin and are used to treat the initial stages of alopecia. The dose of biotin, in this case, varies between 0.0001% to 0.6%.
Biotin for hair: side effects
Different scientific studies affirm that several vitamin supplements contain biotin in amounts much more significant than what the body needs (up to 600 times more than the recommended daily amount), which makes external consumption of biotin worse for the body. However, consumed at the levels indicated in the previous section, it is a reasonably safe medication.
Among the possible side effects of biotin in supplements, we find:
- Allergic reactions.
- Gastrointestinal complaints.
- Alteration of laboratory results (pregnancy tests, cardiac enzyme tests, hormones, anemia tests, among others).
- Being metabolized by the liver can alter the effect of other medications that also pass through the liver to be eliminated. So if you take another medicine, you should make sure to talk to your doctor about it. Similarly, if you are taking biotin, you should notify the professional treating you before they prescribe a drug for you.
Foods with biotin for hair
If what you want is to improve the condition of your hair, make it look more muscular and shinier, or that it does not fall excessively, the most important thing is to maintain a healthy diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes.
There are a wide variety of foods that are rich in vitamin B7 or biotin, and that should be consumed daily (one or the other), including:
- Potato
- Banana
- Mushroom
- Spinach
- Avena
- Corn
- Yeast
- Eggs: it is suggested that a maximum of one or two per week be consumed, preferably from native or homemade eggs, since they contain all the necessary vitamins without consuming substances that are applied in mass rearing and that the human body does not need to. It is essential to say that raw egg is not a good source of this vitamin, as it contains avidin (a protein that consumes biotin).
Other foods such as milk, wheat, and liver also contain biotin. Still, these generate more harm than good (toxicity, inflammation, poor digestion, increased production of secretions), so their frequent consumption is not recommended.
In the following article, you can expand the information about the foods richest in biotin.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any condition or discomfort.
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I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.