A nutritious diet containing all essential minerals and vitamins is important for a healthy body but it is also essential for healthy hair. We generally try to find out the cause of hair shedding but we forget to pay attention towards the diet we take daily. Most of us are oblivion about the fact that a healthy diet can lead to healthy hair.

For the healthy growth of hair, there is a need of right kind and extent of some vitamins among which Biotin is considered as the best vitamin for healthy growth of hair.  Let us try to understand its vital role in the healthy growth of hair.

What is Biotin and what is its need?

If we consider the simple definition of biotin then it is the water-soluble vitamin B complex. It is the vitamin which is very essential for the growth of body cells, fatty acids and even important for the metabolism of amino acids and some fats. There are only a handful people who have heard about the vitamin H and the name of this vitamin H is taken from German word Haar and Haut which means the hair and skin respectively. Even this hair and skin vitamin is also known as beauty vitamin. This beauty vitamin is commonly known as Biotin, Vitamin B7 or even Co-Enzyme R.

This vitamin is very essential for numerous metabolic processes in our body as it transforms the different forms of energy for the regulations of the protein and amino acids. As our hairs are also made up of Keratin which is form f protein so this vitamin is very essential for the growth of hair as it regulates the essential component of hair.

Deficiency of this Vitamin in the body may lead to alopecia and even some people can also experience loss of hair pigmentation due to lack of Biotin.

How Biotin is effective for hair growth?

Biotin is mainly recommended by the hair specialists to the hair loss patients due to following reasons

1. This Vitamin helps in producing and regulating the Keratin protein in the body and this protein ensures the supply of oxygen to the Dermal Papillae cells that further allow the supply of oxygen, blood, and nutrition to the hair follicles.
2. This Vitamin also helps to carry out the carbon dioxide from the scalp cells and even strengthen them.
3. Biotin also forms the protective layer on the topmost layer of your scalp and this layer protects our hair from environmental damage and dryness.
4. It also improves the density of the hair and even leads to longer and thicker hair
5. It also improves the hair strength, texture and even leads to faster growth

Which foods are biotin enriched?

As discussed above biotin is an essential vitamin for the healthy and faster growth of hair so it is important to change our eating habits and diet. We must add some foods in our diet that are enriched with an adequate level of biotin. Let us discuss the different level of biotin in different foods

Food	Level of Biotin in mcg per 100gm approximately
Sweet corn	0.6
oysters	20
Herring	20
Almonds	20
Chickpeas	21
Mushroom	36.6
Egg yolk	54
Calves Liver	76.1
Hazelnuts	81
Peanuts	95

Above table is arranged in the ascending order as per the level of biotin in different food items which clarifies that peanuts have the maximum amount of biotin and the sweet corn has the minimum amount of biotin so you can accordingly add the food items in your diet as per your taste buds and choices. However, the table gives the average amount of biotin in different foods but here it is important to understand that how much biotin is required for the growth of hair as the otherwise excessive level of this vitamin could also some adverse effects for the body.

An adequate amount of biotin required for growth of hair

For the proper and healthy growth of hair, it is important to understand that adequate level of this water-soluble vitamin is required for our body so always consult the doctor before choosing the biotin supplements or adding the biotin enriched foods in your meals.

If we talk on average basis then for the different age group this vitamin is required in different extent as follows

Biotin intake required for infants

If the baby is of just 6 months then 5μg/day is sufficient and if the baby is more than 6 but less than one year then 6μg/day can be given for proper growth

Biotin intake for children having age 1-18 years

For the children having age more than one and up to 3 years 8 μg/day is sufficient and for the children more than 3 and less than 8 years 1 μg/day is required. After the age of 8, this requirement can be increased up to 20 μg/day and remain same till the age of 13 years. For the children having age between 13 and 18 years, this requirement can be up the 25 μg/day.

Biotin intake after the age of 19

Intake of this biotin increase after the age of 18 years but up to 30 μg/day but after this intake, the requirement remains the same till the age of 70 years. It means young men or women require the 30 μg/day till their old age. Thus it is very important to discuss with your doctor about your biotin requirement so that you could get the benefits of this beauty vitamin.

What to avoid for proper absorption of biotin in the body?

However, we have discussed many food items that contain the biotin vitamin but there are few things that could steal this biotin from your body and can trigger its deficiency in the body.  Following are few things about which we should think before consumption

• Alcohol consumption could inhibit the absorption and utilization of this beauty vitamin and even it can interrupt the metabolism of the body so it should be avoided.

There are some broad-spectrum antibiotics like tetracycline, Amoxicillin, and Vancomycin that could damage the colonies of bacteria that help in the production of biotin in the body itself.