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Many hair loss sufferers that are researching for supplements for hair loss are highly likely to stumble upon Biotin, a highly regarded vitamin B supplement in the fight against hair loss.

Besides been included as a primary ingredient in hair supplements, this vitamin is also infused in many shampoos and hair products due to its deemed beneficial effects on the hair. So how much do you know about this particular vitamin? Does it really work wonders for your hair? It's time to find out the real facts about it.

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Main functions of Biotin

Biotin (vitamin B7) hails from the Greek word 'bios' which literally means life itself. The vitamin is classified as a sub unit of the vitamin b complex group which consists of over 8 major classes. Known also as vitamin H which is often regarded as the 'hair vitamin', it's actually a very important component not only for your hair but for maintaining life itself. That is simply because your body needs this important vitamin daily for many of its critical processes including

• Formation of fatty acids
• Cell growth
• Creation of amino acids
• Transfer of carbon dioxide
• Converting food into energy
• Maintaining a steady blood sugar level

The vitamin is so important that death is theoretically possible if you face severe deficiency from it. Luckily for most people it's very easy to get ample supply of the vitamin daily from the foods that we eat and often have more than enough of the required daily intake.

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Hair Benefits

The connection between biotin and hair loss has been debated for decades. Some say it's not effective while many testimonials from users claim that taking the supplement consistently actually helps with faster hair growth. In relations to that, many hair experts also recommend the vitamin as a hair supplement to go along with other medications like Propecia and Minoxidil for treating Pattern Baldness and sudden hair loss.

Although many hair loss sufferers are very interested in the clinical results of its effect on reversing hair loss, there has yet any conclusive and concrete studies ascertaining its effectiveness to grow hair.

Nevertheless, there have been many studies in smaller scales that indicate the positive effects of this vitamin on the hair. You can find further details of the vitamin below.

Link 1 (Opens a new window)

Link 2 (Opens a new window)

Link 3 (Opens a new window)

Now you may ask, how are these studies relate to your hair? Your nails and the hooves are made of the same protein fibres like your hair known as keratin. Any increase in your nails quality should theoretically also be reflected in your hair as well. While this vitamin might not necessarily speed hair growth, it may have potential in keeping your hair strong and healthy.

Backing that up, when you browse through online retailing sites like amazon.com or drugstore.com, you can see many positive user reviews in popular biotin-containing products about better hair growth and quality. That can be a very solid confirmation that general users find the vitamin to be influential for the hair.

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Other Health Benefits

Biotin is not just a supplement for hair loss. Many people with certain medical conditions also use this supplement. Some of the common medicinal uses are

• Treating Cradle Cap
  A dry or greasy scalp condition that accompanies with flaking and scaling that usually affects infants a few weeks after birth. The supplement seems to be able to control the condition and reduce the symptoms pretty well.
• Controlling Diabetes
  Together with the mineral chromium supplements are often related to people with type II diabetes. Regularly supplementing biotin and chromium has seen better results in blood sugar condition and in some studies, have shown remarkable reduction in fasting blood glucose levels as much as 50 percent. The vitamin also plays a role in preventing neuropathy and helps reduce numbness and tingling often associated with bad glucose control.

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Deficiency Symptoms

• Dry skin
• Seborrheic dermatitis
• Rashes near the mouth
• Weak and brittle hair
• Diffuse hair loss
• Mild depression
• Muscular pain
• Heart irregularities
• Tingling and numbness in the hands and feet

Although scientists have not proven statistically the beneficial effects of taking high doses in preventing hair loss, they have instead associate hair loss with people that are suffering from biotin deficiency.

It's very unlikely for you to suffer from this deficiency if you have no diet or certain health conditions. Also, unless you are a person that eats a huge amount of raw eggs white daily which can flood your body with a protein avidin that prevents the vitamin's absorption, then it's very hard to face this deficiency.

There are still other possible reasons that you might not be getting enough biotin and that is often related to

• Heavy alcohol abuse
  Alcohol can destroy the vitamin supplies inside your body. If you are facing alcohol dependencies problem, you might require supplementation
• Total parental nutrition (TPN) without biotin supplementation
  For those who feeds intravenously and also stops any other form of nutrition intake, it's possible to lack of the vitamin if it's not included in the TPN.
• Prolonged oral antibiotics use
  Prolonged oral antibiotic therapy has been known to destroy the bacteria in your gut that are responsible for producing the vitamin. Supplementations might be necessary if that is the case.
• Biotinase deficiency
  A very rare genetic disorder that occurs in like 1 to 100,000 people, Biotinase deficiency are often discovered few weeks after birth with deficiency symptoms. Supplementing with 5-10mg of biotin is the standard treatment procedure.




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Essential Information


Recommended Daily Allowance for Adults

150mcg

Main Food Sources Peanuts Almonds Kidneys Egg yolks Walnuts




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Precautions


There are no known side effects of taking more than 5 times the recommended daily allowance.




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Opinion on the Vitamin

While there has yet any proven studies of its effects on hair loss, public opinion on this vitamin is pretty obvious, taking Biotin supplements do more good than harm to your hair. With no noted side effects even at very high doses, you can consider it as a supplementary treatment for your hair and nails condition. Of course, no one can tell the outcome if you swallow the whole bottle at once.

Whether if you intend to use it as a standalone or take it from the vitamin b complex group, this is one vitamin that you should consider trying for hair loss regardless of your diet.








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