The eight B vitamins include biotin, folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B-6 and B-12. These vitamins are essential for forming enzymes and red blood cells, growth and development, and turning the food you consume into energy for your body. Although a deficiency in B vitamins can lead to other health conditions, the National Institutes of Health does not list skin tags as one of these conditions.
Skin Tags
Skin tags are harmless skin growths that are attached by a small stalk to the rest of your skin. They can be up to half an inch long and may be skin colored or slightly darker in color. Skin tags often occur in the armpits, neck, groin or trunk or in the skin folds that occur in overweight individuals. Other small growths, such as viral warts, seborrhoeic keratosis or molluscum contagiosum, may be confused with skin tags, so see a doctor or dermatologist for a diagnosis if you are unsure what type of growth you have.
B Vitamins and Skin Tags
Although niacin is important for keeping your skin healthy, the Merck Manual does not list skin tags as a symptoms of niacin deficiency, although a niacin deficiency may cause a type of rash. Deficiencies in other B vitamins may increase your risk for eczema, according to the American Cancer Society, but B-vitamin deficiencies are unlikely to cause skin tags.
Skin Tag Causes
Although the exact cause of skin tags isn't clear, doctors believe it may be due to skin rubbing together since they commonly occur in skin folds. However, insulin resistance, higher than normal levels of growth factors or the human papilloma virus may also play a part in skin tag formation, according to the New Zealand Dermatological Society.
Considerations
Skin tags are usually only a cosmetic concern, but you can have your doctor remove them if they are bothering you. Common removal methods include surgery, freezing them off through cryotherapy or burning them off through cauterization.
Although a deficiency in one of the B vitamins may not cause skin tags, it can cause anemia or another serious health condition, so aim to consume at least the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of B vitamins each day through food or vitamin supplements. The RDAs for vitamins are set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, and can be found on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.
