Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin which is also known as vitamin B7, a member of the vitamin B complex. It is an essential nutrient in the body and it is also responsible for many bodily functions like protein synthesis, transformation of carbohydrates and fats to energy, and the metabolism of many vital substances like amino acids, cholesterol, and sugars.
As a form of treatment, biotin has been found to have beneficial effects for diabetics. In a study, it was discovered that individuals with diabetes mellitus have low levels of biotin in their bodies. Another study directly exhibited that supplementing diabetics with the vitamin helped lower their blood sugar content.
Another fact that is known about biotin is that it provides benefits to the health of the hair, skin, and nails. It has been found that biotin can promote healthy growth of hair and nails, and the skin is also maintained by the vitamin. Because of this fact, many people imply that one end also worked for the other. If an individual suffered problems with the hair, skin, and nails, supplementing him with biotin would show improvement in his medical problem. This is partially true because in one study where test subjects have brittle fingernails, after they were given biotin supplements, their fingernails became thicker and stronger after a period of regular use. It is also known that alopecia is one of the effects of biotin deficiency, although it cannot be directly associated with the disorder because it is not the only cause of hair loss. There are also no credible studies which show that biotin supplements can actually promote hair growth.
Nonetheless, it can be observed that there are a lot of biotin products in the market, and most of them are in the form of pills or oral supplements. Biotin pills are packaged in bottles and have specific doses depending on the package that is purchased. A lot of people use these supplements for various purposes which include hair growth, skin care, and diabetes treatment.
The supplement is most widely used for hair loss treatment, and a lot of people have declared that the vitamin really has positive effects in growing back hair. But this is not supported by genuine scientific evidence. However, many marketers, manufacturers, and chemists make use of the fact that biotin deficiency cause alopecia to endorse the effectiveness of the substance to promote hair growth.
However, biotin pills are prescribed by some doctors for the treatment of alopecia, and they advise the use of oral supplements instead of topical ones even if the target area to be treated is the scalp. This is because biotin is not absorbed by the skin effectively, thus using topical treatments does nothing to treat any problems caused by biotin deficiency.
The supplement is also used for the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis, a condition which is also associated with biotin deficiency. This is a skin disorder which is characterized by scaly, flaky, and itchy red skin. It is also known as soborrheic eczema because of its similarities with the skin disorder. Individuals who have seborrheic dermatitis are often supplemented with biotin and this is a proven effective supplement. However, like in the case of alopecia, biotin for seborrheic dermatitis is also recommended to be in oral form.
Biotin pills can be bought in almost any drugstore and supermarket. There are a lot of oral biotin supplements and they come in forms of tablet, capsule, soft gel, and lozenges. The dose of the supplement, measured in micrograms, should be noted because high doses of the vitamin can cause acne outbreaks.
So far, the only side effect of the vitamin is acne outbreak, and there are no other health problems which are associated with long term use of the pills. So if you have alopecia or seborrheic dermatitis, you can take biotin supplements as an alternative form of treatment.