Biotin, or Vitamin H, is part of the B complex group of vitamins. All B vitamins help the body to convert food (carbohydrates) into fuel (glucose), which is used to produce energy. These B vitamins, often referred to as B complex vitamins, also help the body metabolize fats and protein. B complex vitamins are needed for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver. They also help the nervous system function properly.
Your body needs biotin to metabolize carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Biotin is often recommended for strengthening hair and nails and it’s found in many cosmetic products for hair and skin.
Like all B vitamins, biotin is a water-soluble, meaning the body does not store it. Instead, bacteria in the intestine can makes biotin. It is also available in small amounts a number of foods. Biotin is also important for normal embryonic growth, making it a critical nutrient during pregnancy.
It’s rare to be deficient in biotin. Symptoms include hair loss, dry scaly skin, cracking in the corners of the mouth (called cheilitis), swollen and painful tongue that is magenta in color (glossitis), dry eyes, loss of appetite, fatigue, insomnia, and depression. People who have been on parenteral nutrition — nutrition given through an IV — for a long period of time, those taking antiseizure medication or antibiotics long-term, and people with conditions like Crohn’s disease that make it hard to absorb nutrients are more likely to be deficient in biotin.
Some evidence suggests that biotin supplements may improve thin, splitting, or brittle toe and fingernails, as well as hair. Biotin, combined with zinc and topical clobetasol propionate, has also been used to combat alopecia areata in both children and adults.
Preliminary research indicates that a combination of biotin and chromium might improve blood sugar control in some people with type 2 diabetes, but biotin alone doesn’t seem to have the same effect.
There have been reports that biotin supplements improve the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy for some people who developed this condition from either diabetes or ongoing dialysis for kidney failure. Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage in the feet, hands, legs, or arms. Numbness, tingling, burning or strange sensations, pain, muscle weakness, and trouble walking are some symptoms. However, there aren’t any studies that evaluate whether biotin really helps treat peripheral neuropathy.
Dietary sources for biotin can be found in: brewer’s yeast, cooked eggs, especially egg yolk, sardines; nuts (almonds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts) and nut butters, soybeans, other legumes (beans, blackeye peas), whole grains, cauliflower, bananas and mushrooms.
Food-processing techniques can destroy biotin. Less-processed versions of the foods listed above contain more biotin.
Texas Transdermals’ Multivitamin patch contains the proper supplemental dose of Biotin.