Biotin is a B vitamin. It helps your body metabolize energy from food by assisting enzymes that break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates, according to Harvard Medical School. Biotin deficiency can lead to hair loss, rashes, heart problems and high cholesterol. Such deficiencies are rare, except among pregnant women. Thus you should consult your doctor before supplementing with biotin, recommends the Mayo Clinic. Also, although there are no reports of biotin toxicity in available medical literature, doses that are higher than the recommended daily allowance should be taken only under medical supervision, advises the National Institutes of Health.
Pregnancy and Nursing
If you are pregnant, you may need to supplement with a prenatal vitamin that includes biotin to prevent a deficiency, advises Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The recommended dosage is 30 mcg daily. If you are nursing, the recommended dose is 35 mcg daily. As a nursing mom, you can supplement with biotin to treat your child's cradle cap, a scaly head rash common among infants. This supplement is taken by the nursing mom, not the child. Usual dosage is 6,000 mcg a day. You also may take 3,000 mcg daily to treat brittle toe and fingernails. Evidence to support use of biotin for cradle cap and brittle nails is weak, however, according to the center.
Reduce Blood Sugar
Biotin may help reduce your blood sugar levels if you are diabetic. The typical recommended dosage for a diabetic person is 7,000 to 15,000 mcg a day, but you should consult a health-care provider to determine what's best for you. Preliminary studies support this use, but larger studies are needed before a recommendation can be made, advises the Beth Israel Center.
Skin and Hair
You may see biotin touted as an acne, eczema or hair-loss treatment. If you are deficient, getting enough biotin may help counteract hair loss. But in general, claims about such uses are not proven, according to drugs.com.
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