Biotin is a popular supplement for women and men alike. Whether you plan on taking starting a biotin treatment for health or beauty reasons, you're probably wondering what side effects you can expect.
One of the most commonly rumored side effects of the vitamin is headaches. Can biotin cause headaches?
So, in this article, we'll take a look at whether there's any truth to the rumor. We'll also answer some of your other biotin-related questions, including the one side effect that's well documented.
Can Biotin Cause Headaches?
There's no good evidence that biotin causes headaches. In the largest study of high-dose biotin, people took 300 mg a day, far more than any hair supplement contains, and side effects of any kind were about as common as in people taking a placebo, a pill with nothing active in it.
Headaches do show up in the reports people send to drug-safety databases, but those reports can't show that biotin caused them.
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Some biotin users also say they get headaches, and that's worth taking seriously. But a headache that starts around the same time as a new supplement can have many causes.
Biotin, or b7, is an organic compound belonging to a group of B vitamins. B vitamins play a substantial role in energy metabolism and nervous system function.
They help transform macronutrients like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into a form of energy that your body can actually use. While biotin is usually obtained through the foods you eat, some people take it as a supplement.
What If You Get a Headache After Starting Biotin?
If you notice headaches after starting biotin, the simplest test is to stop taking it and see whether they go away. If you're taking biotin for a deficiency, ask your doctor before you stop.
If you don't have a deficiency, you may not need the supplement at all, because most people get enough biotin from food. And if a headache is severe, sudden, or doesn't go away, see a doctor.
What Are the Other Side Effects of Biotin?
Taking small amounts of biotin each day is generally regarded as safe. However, many biotin supplements come in much larger doses than what's needed daily. The side effect that's best documented isn't something you'd feel. It's what high doses do to your blood tests.
Many lab tests use biotin as part of how they measure things, so extra biotin in your blood can throw off the result. The FDA has warned that biotin can make troponin, a test that helps detect a heart attack, read falsely low. According to the NIH, even a single 10 mg dose, or 10,000 mcg, has interfered with thyroid tests performed within 24 hours. So tell your doctor and whoever orders your bloodwork if you take biotin, including how much.
Is It Good to Take Biotin Every Day?
Taking biotin every day is considered safe, but it only helps if you're low in it. Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin. Unlike fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins don't get stored in your fat cells when you ingest too many.
Instead, the excess biotin simply passes through your urine. Because you don't run the risk of developing toxicity, most people can take daily biotin supplements without issue.
However, only a healthcare provider offering professional medical advice can tell you whether it's safe for you to take biotin daily. Always check with a healthcare professional before starting a new biotin regimen.
Since most people get an adequate amount of biotin through their diet, the supplements are usually only recommended for people who are deficient. However, there's no way of knowing if you're deficient without speaking with a medical professional.
Your doctor can perform blood work to determine where your biotin levels fall. Then, they may or may not recommend biotin supplements to bring your levels into a healthy range.
How Do You Know if You Are Taking Too Much Biotin?
Because biotin is water soluble, most people won't face adverse effects from taking too much. Biotin hasn't been shown to cause toxicity at the doses studied. The clearest sign you're taking a lot is on the label: many supplements hold 5,000 or 10,000 mcg, which is 167 to 333 times what an adult needs.
If you're taking that much without a diagnosed deficiency, ask your doctor whether you need it, and tell whoever orders your bloodwork that you take it.
What Are the Signs of a Biotin Deficiency?
Although biotin deficiency is rare in healthy adults, it can come from a rare inherited condition called biotinidase deficiency, eating a lot of raw egg whites, taking certain seizure medicines long term, heavy drinking, or changes in gut bacteria. Signs of a biotin deficiency include:
- Thinning hair and hair loss
- Brittle nails
- A scaly red rash around the eyes, nose, and mouth, or skin infections
- Seizures
- Neurological issues like lethargy, depression, and hallucinations.
Also, as we mentioned earlier, the only people shown to benefit from biotin supplements are those with a deficiency. Unlike other vitamins, your body isn't able to produce biotin naturally. Instead, the bacteria living in your gut synthesize it from the foods you eat.
Does Biotin Help Your Hair Grow?
Only if you're low in it. Biotin helps hair grow back when a deficiency is causing the hair loss, but that's rare. For everyone else, the research doesn't show that it makes hair grow faster, thicker, or longer. It's often said to work by boosting keratin, the protein your hair is made of, but when researchers grew human hair follicle cells in the lab, extra biotin didn't change how they grew.
Many people credit biotin for longer hair anyway. One reason is timing. Shedding after childbirth, illness, surgery, or a stressful stretch often settles on its own within six to nine months, so hair that was already recovering can look like the biotin fixed it.
If you do have a deficiency, treating it can help your hair, skin, and nails recover, though it still takes months for new hair to grow in.
How Much Biotin Should You Take for Hair Growth?
Most healthy adults need about 30 micrograms of biotin a day, and most people already get that from food.
However, most biotin supplements contain significantly more. As with other vitamins and supplements, you want to take the minimum necessary amount.
We recommend consulting a doctor to determine how much biotin you should take daily.
You may require more or less biotin than the average person if one or more of the following apply to you:
- You're a smoker (smoking may speed up how quickly your body breaks biotin down)
- You're pregnant or breastfeeding
- You have digestive or intestinal problems
- You're on certain medications (e.g., long-term anti-seizure medicines or antibiotics)
- You eat raw egg whites
- You drink heavily
What Foods Are High in Biotin?
One way to avoid the potential risks of taking biotin supplements is to eat more biotin-rich foods. There are a variety of foods that contain naturally high levels of biotin.
Additionally, vitamin-rich foods tend to be more healthy and beneficial than taking supplements.
Simply make more of an effort to incorporate the following foods into your diet.
- Cooked eggs - Raw egg whites can actually lead to a biotin deficiency, so make sure your eggs are fully cooked before you consume them.
- Seeds and nuts - Some of the most biotin-rich seeds and nuts include walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and pecans.
- Vegetables - Sweet potatoes are one of the better vegetable sources. Most others, like spinach and broccoli, have only a little.
- Salmon - A 3-ounce serving has about 5 mcg, a sixth of what an adult needs in a day.
- Organ meats - Although not everyone eats them, organ meats are some of the richest sources of biotin available.
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Headaches are often listed as a side effect of biotin, but there's no good evidence that biotin causes them. The documented risk is to your blood tests.
If you do get headaches after starting biotin, try stopping it to see whether they go away, and see a doctor if they're severe or don't ease up. And with that, we hope we've answered all of your questions today!
