You may regard biotin merely as a cure for your brittle nails—it’s been shown to thicken fingernails as well as the hooves of horses and pigs—but this B vitamin means more to our bodies than simple beauty care. Biotin has a daily job that it does with great reliability in our bodies: It helps us use carbohydrate, fat, and protein to produce the energy that allows us to stay alive. It also helps to make the tissues that form our bodies. Biotin may be especially beneficial to newborns and people with diabetes.
One of the major roles of this vitamin is very simple. It helps to attach a carbon and two oxygen molecules, called a carboxyl group, to other molecules. "This is a basic step in a lot of the chemical reactions that go on in our bodies," says Donald McCormick, Ph.D., chairman of the department of biochemistry at Emory University in Atlanta. "It happens when we break down carbohydrates for energy, when we use amino acids that come from protein, and when we use fats for energy. So biotin is working all over our bodies, all the time. It is critical for good health. Are You Absorbing This?
Luckily, most people never become deficient in biotin. Among adults, people who are most likely to be deficient are those with absorption problems. People who have Crohn’s disease, an intestinal disorder, may be deficient because they don’t absorb enough biotin from food.
Some infants have a genetic inability to use biotin. Lacking the support of this hardworking vitamin, they develop skin problems, such as an oily, flaky rash around their ears, noses, and mouths and on their buttocks. Eventually, they may also develop muscle weakness and potentially fatal nerve damage.
"Evidence of a biotin deficiency is most likely to be seen first where there are rapidly regenerating cells, such as those that lead to the formation of skin and hair," Dr. McCormick says. Even if you don’t have a biotin deficiency that affects your health, the lack of this vitamin might be evident in some parts of your body. One study found that an additional 2,500 micrograms a day of biotin helped to strengthen and thicken brittle fingernails.
"Hair and nails contain a lot of a type of protein called keratin, which gives them their hard structure, and keratin production indirectly requires biotin," Dr. McCormick says. Certain fatty acids that our bodies use to make hair and nails can’t be utilized unless biotin is on hand.
In fact, all animals need biotin. In furred animals such as mink and fox, a deficiency leads to a condition called spectacle eyes—baldness around the eyes. Horses and cattle that are short on biotin have hoof problems.
A Diabetes Connection?
In several studies, biotin supplementation has been shown to enhance the performance of insulin, the hormone that plays a critical role in helping your body incorporate blood sugar. The supplements can also increase the activity of an enzyme, glucokinase, which the liver uses early in the process of utilizing blood sugar, says Michael Murray, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and co-author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.
SUPPLEMENTSNAPSHOT
| Biotin May help: Thin, brittle nails and seborrheic dermatitis; may also help lower blood sugar in some people with diabetes. Daily Value: 300 micrograms. Special instructions: Take in divided doses throughout the day. Who’s at risk for deficiency: People with intestinal absorption problems and babies with problems metabolizing biotin. Good food sources: Brewer’s yeast, molasses, egg yolks, milk, liver, soybeans, walnuts, peanuts, wheat bran, and cauliflower. Cautions and possible side effects: Generally regarded as safe. |
One study that looked at biotin supplementation in people with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes found significant improvements in blood sugar control. Another study looked at the potential benefits of biotin supplements in people with type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes.
Every day for a month, Japanese researchers gave nine milligrams of biotin to 18 people with type 2 diabetes. After 30 days, the participants’ blood sugar fell to nearly half its original levels. Researchers have also shown high-dose biotin to be very helpful in the treatment of severe diabetic nerve disease, Dr. Murray reports.
A Little Goes a Long Way
Two things make biotin deficiency rare. For starters, you need only a small amount—300 micrograms, or about one-third of a milligram. Second, many foods contain some biotin, although only a few, such as egg yolks, molasses, and soybeans, are rich sources. Ounce for ounce, the very top sources are two old-time "health foods"—royal jelly, a substance secreted by bees, and brewer’s yeast.
Bacteria in our intestines also make biotin, although just how much they make—and how much of it we absorb—remains a mystery, according to Dr. McCormick. "Most of these bacteria are in the colon, and we just don’t absorb much biotin in that part of our intestines."
