Hey Guys, my name is Dr. Sam.
And recently I’ve had a few of you ask me
about Biotin and Hair loss.
I’m really excited to be talking about this
because I did a wee bit of research and I’m
going to give you the results on
what the studies actually show.
Specifically, what is Biotin,
where are the best places to get Biotin from
and should you take Biotin for hair loss?
What is Biotin?
Biotin is an essential micronutrient.
It is one of the B vitamins and is often marketed
as vitamin B7 and coenzyme R.
It is often recommended as a vitamin that is needed for
beautiful hair and skin.
Human tissues do not make biotin,
although it is made by the bacteria that live in our gut.
What foods do you get Biotin from?
Biotin is particularly high in brewer's yeast
and in Royal Jelly.
You can also find Biotin in egg yolks, fish,
meat, liver, seeds, nuts, and vegetables.
I’ll list all the foods in the description below.
What is the link between Biotin and Hair loss?
So Biotin Deficiency,
when you don’t have enough Biotin in your body,
can cause various symptoms including:
hair loss (alopecia),
conjunctivitis,
dermatitis in the form of
a scaly, red rash around the eyes, nose, and mouth
and neurological symptoms, such as depression,
tiredness, hallucinations, and
numbness and tingling of the extremities.
Biotin deficiencies are generally considered
rare in the Western world.
What are the causes of Biotin Deficiencies?
People can either be born with genetic deficiencies
meaning they can’t get enough Biotin in
their bodies, or it can be the result of another
factor affecting their levels of Biotin:
Like taking anti-epileptic medications or
even isotretinoin tablets that you take for acne
can reduce Biotin in the body.
I’ll list most of the causes of Biotin Deficiency
in the description for you.
How do you know if you have a Biotin Deficiency?
The only way to truly know if you have a Biotin
deficiency is to test for the level in your blood.
A biotin deficiency is when you have a level of
less than 100 ng/L
and suboptimal biotin levels are between
100 and 400 ng/L.
Most doctors won’t test you for this however,
as the treatments are far cheaper than the actual test.
If you can get it done, that would be really helpful
because then a deficiency can be treated
with nutritional supplements.
What is the dose of Biotin Supplements?
The normal adult dose for someone who has
biotin deficiency is 30 mcg once daily.
Should you take Biotin for hair loss?
A million dollar question,
I’ll answer this very soon - I promise!
But there is something you should know first
before making that decision.
There was a study looking at healthy women
who complained of hair loss.
It was found that 38% had Biotin Deficiency
and 49% had suboptimal biotin levels.
But 11% of them had a reversible cause
of the Biotin deficiency - meaning they could
sort out their hair loss without taking Biotin.
To date there have been no Randomized Trials
looking at the effect of giving biotin to
people with hair loss.
Generally Biotin is not recommended as a stock
standard treatment, because most people
can get enough biotin naturally from their diet.
What are the advantages and disadvantages
of taking Biotin Supplements?
The good news is there is no known toxicity
of biotin and no reported cases of side effects
from receiving high doses of the vitamin
(10-30mg a day).
It does seem to stop nails from splitting.
But one drawback is that Biotin can interfere
with quite a few lab tests from your doctor
like thyroid hormone tests, heart blood tests
and other immunoassays.
So it’s extremely important to tell your
doctor that you are taking Biotin otherwise
they won’t know how to interpret the blood results.
What is the bottom line Dr. Sam?
I don’t really see a problem in taking Biotin
for hair loss, but personally I am a fan of
getting nutrients from food sources rather
than a tablet.
This is not only to save you money,
but I don’t like having to take tablets
unless I absolutely have to!
If you can stop any other causes of Biotin
Deficiency, that might be very helpful for
your hair loss.
But, just read through the causes I’ve linked
in the description and see if any apply to you.
If you have a reversible cause like smoking,
please give it up and it may just help your
hair loss.
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on hair.
I’ll see you in the next video :)