new thread
There's been a fair amount of discussion regarding biotin on the board lately. Here's a non-hair related article about it that I thought some of you might find interesting.
--Val
RealAge
The Vitamin for Healthy Nails
Of all the nutritional supplements touted for treating nails that split, break, and peel, only one has gotten a universal thumbs-up from science: biotin.
Biotin, a B-complex vitamin, has long been used to treat damaged hooves on horses. And because our nails are made of the same stuff (keratin), it turns out the vitamin works for us two-legged creatures, too.
What's Good for the Horse...
When dermatologists first put biotin to the test in humans nearly 20 years ago, they found that extra biotin intake could increase nail thickness up to 25 percent in women who had soft or brittle nails. One study used 2.5 milligrams of biotin daily to help strengthen nails, which is quite a bit -- more than most diets and multivitamins contain. So if you have soft nails, first ask your doctor how best to increase your biotin intake safely.
RealAge Recommends:
YOU docs Mehmet Oz, MD, and Michael Roizen, MD, recommend getting 300 micrograms of biotin each day. (Here's how much they recommend of the other B vitamins.) Your diet is always your best and safest source of vitamins and minerals, so if you want to strengthen your nails naturally, try eating more biotin-rich nuts (peanuts, filberts, cashews, and almonds), eggs, soybeans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, fish (haddock and salmon), or vegetables like chard or carrots. But if your nails are still brittle, investigate a supplement with your doctor. (Here's a way you probably never thought of to get biotin-rich peanuts -- in soup!)
Your nails can clue you in to underlying health problems. Find out what your nails might be revealing about your health with this nail-care article.
Healthy, beautiful nails come from the diet, not the salon. Add a supernutritional nail hardener with a biotin supplement. Then, stop worrying about breaking a nail. Odds are very good you won't.
RealAge Benefit: Eating foods from a variety of sources can make your RealAge 1 year younger.
References: Vitamins and minerals: their role in nail health and disease. Scheinfeld, N., Dahdah, M. J., Scher, R., Journal of Drugs in Dermatology 2007 Aug;6(8):782-787.
Treatment of brittle fingernails and onychoschizia with biotin: scanning electron microscopy. Colombo, V. E., Gerber, F., Bronhofer, M., Floersheim, G. L., Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 1990 Dec;23(6 Pt1):1127-1132.
Copyright © 2008, RealAge, Inc. All rights reserved. RealAge shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. RealAge® is a federally registered trademark of RealAge, Inc.
Anecdotal reports show that biotin may be effective in treating a specific nail condition called "brittle nail syndrome", though so far no randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies have been done to prove it. Biotin has not been shown to affect healthy nails (you know, ones that don't have onychorrhexis or onychoschizia, but I'm sure everyone already knows about that!)
I agree that, if indeed "no randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies have been done to prove it," then legitimate questions as to the efficacy of biotin can--and should--continue to be raised. Anecdotally, however, there have been numerous reports that biotin may improve the condition of nails (and possibly even hair, though I too doubt its purported ability to increase hair growth rate). Is it such a stretch to suppose that, if increasing dietary biotin can improve the condition of unhealthy nails, it might also improve (or help maintain) the condition of healthy nails?
Of important note is the article's caution regarding dosage. If you are looking to increase your intake of this nutrient, go for biotin-rich foods rather than seeking for that "magic pill." Higher-dosage supplements are, of course, recommended by the people selling them, but tend to be unnecessary if one's diet is healthy and well-balanced.
Personally, I'm not emotionally invested in this issue either way... I just thought it might be of some interest to other members of the board.
--Val
"Is it such a stretch to suppose that, if increasing dietary biotin can improve the condition of unhealthy nails, it might also improve (or help maintain) the condition of healthy nails?"
Increasing dietary biotin would only be useful if the person's body has difficulty absorbing and using the biotin. Increased intake can sometimes overcome the absorption problem. As is the case for most vitamins and minerals and trace elements, however, it is potentially dangerous to assume that "more is better". So, to answer your question, Validus, it is a bit of a stretch.
Aren't nails just compressed hairs? OK, that's a simplification, but they're the same material.
And for anyone jumping on this as support for taking biotin (and you know who you are), note that the article says "nails that split, break and peel" and "soft nails". If your nails are healthy, biotin won't improve the condition or make them grow faster. The same thing with hair, if your hair is healthy, biotin won't make it better. If your hair and nails are weak and damaged, talk to a doctor to see if your diet is severely lacking in biotin or you can't process it properly, then and only then should you consider taking the supplements.
I had read a book stating that vitamins/suppliments, and such are pointless and possibly harmful for various reasons...
1) it's neither a drug or a food, so you have no idea what's in it
2) in this country, it's nearly impossible to be undernourished
3) you really only need a thimbleful of vitamins over the course of a year
4) a medical doctor flat-out told me suppliments/vitamins wouldn't help any medical condition, and he was absolutely right. I was out 50 bucks for tons of pills that did nothing.
5) People's bodies are designed to run on fresh food, not powdered junk. This is like trying to run your car on grain alcohol (not that it'd work, unless you somehow have a turbine engine in it)
6) and lastly, personally, I'm apprehensive of the statement on every bottle of this kind of stuff; "The FDA does not validate any claims made by this suppliment/vitamin corporation."
it's a huge lobby, and from what i personally know, it sucks money for no reason a at all. If you eat well, you should have healthy nails...and unhealthy nails can be indicative of a medical condition.