More people are learning about biotin. Most people know it as a beauty vitamin that helps make your nails, hair, and overall skin look beautiful, but there is more to biotin than meets the eye.
For one, biotin is also known as vitamin H so its bio-availability is a lot better than you might imagine. It should be noted that biotin is considered one of the B complex vitamins, which means it helps your body covert food into usable energy.
The word, biotin, gives you a clue about its importance. The word derived from the Greek word, “biotos.” This means “life” in Greek though some say it translates better as “sustenance,” which goes to show how big of a role this B vitamin plays in the body.
The good thing about biotin is that most people can easily add it to their diet. The easiest way is to simply take a supplement though all supplements should be discussed with your health care provider.
Another option is to simply start eating foods that contain biotin such as organ meats, eggs, soybeans, mushrooms, and whole grains. Keep in mind that you need to make sure you are getting the best foods to ensure your body gets the most biotin out of them. This means focusing on organic and fresh foods, preferably local, so go to farms or farmer’s markets instead of your regular grocery store.
The following are seven reasons why adding biotin to your diet is a good idea.
1. What Can This Vitamin do for Your Hair?
Okay, so you know that biotin helps the body break down food into energy so that it can be used, which is part of the reason it is so helpful for hair health. This B complex helps break down things like fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids, which is how energy is created inside you. This energy creation also makes it possible for your body to synthesize proteins, which is why it becomes important for your hair.
Hair is made up of mostly keratin, which is a protein your body makes. Biotin is an essential component of this particular process, which is the reason you want to consume more of this B complex vitamin. Of course, you are still going to need additional components such as plenty vitamin D, but you can talk to your doctor or nutritionist to find out what else you need.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]2. What This Vitamin can do to Fight Brittle Nails
This water-soluble vitamin is not really stored in the body. It needs to be consumed and when you do, it can help fight brittle nails. Having strong, healthy, and beautiful nails is definitely a benefit worth the trouble. The reason this particular vitamin is helpful is the same reason it helps maintain hair health. Keratin is a major building block protein that the body uses to ensure nails are healthy. Consuming a sufficient amount of this protein should help you not only grow your nails faster but also grow shiny nails, too.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]3. Pregnancy And Breastfeeding can Also be Impacted
Biotin is usually included in the prenatal vitamins recommended to women. It helps a baby grow big and strong in addition to helping you avoid some issues associated with pregnancy such as hair loss. It should be noted that this particular vitamin is also passed to your baby when you breastfeed. The amount of the vitamin you are able to pass to your baby depends on how much you actually have in your body. Keep in mind that it keeps your baby healthy and can even prevent issues like cradle cap.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]4. Reduced Blood Sugar in People With Diabetes
Not many people know that biotin may regulate blood sugar. This is an important benefit for those suffering from diabetes. Biotin helps the body convert simple sugars such as carbohydrates into healthy energy that you can use afterwards. A sluggish metabolic rate can actually increase the amount of sugar in your blood, which is problematic since it can cause a host of issues. Biotin is definitely a vitamin to have in your corner.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]5. Boosts Your Metabolism so That it Becomes More Potent
As you know, your body’s ability to transform food into energy is what metabolism is all about. Those with optimal metabolism can quickly dispose of food, but those with a slow metabolism end up dealing with excess fat. Biotin is one of many vitamins that helps the body process the foods you eat, such as fats and carbohydrates. This is the reason consuming more biotin can help your body maintain its weight more effectively.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]6. Skin Health can be Improved With Consumption
Yes, many people fall in love with biotin because it can make a person’s skin look youthful. This youthfulness and natural glow is no accident, which is one reason beauty companies add biotin to their products. The reason this vitamin is important for your skin is because your skin uses keratin, too. It uses this protein to protect itself from fungal infections, dryness, redness, acne, cracking, and even rashes. All of these skin issues could hurt your skin’s ability to shine and be its best.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]7. Helps Those Dealing With Multiple Sclerosis
This B complex vitamin can do a lot for the body, as mentioned earlier, and it can help those suffering from this particular ailment as well. Multiple sclerosis seems to happen when myelin is damaged. The body makes this substance to protect nerve cells. Well, it seems that this particular vitamin plays a big role in activating the enzymes that the body uses to make more myelin. Once the body is able to produce enough of this particular substance, the nervous system should be able to establish a healthy connection between nerve cells. Of course, this is going to take some time, but a little patience can go a long way, not to mention your health care provider’s advice.
