Happy Apple Nutrition

3 people asked me about hair loss, taking biotin supplements in particular this past week. It is not a simple answer. Biotin (vitamin B7) is marketed for minimizing hair loss. Does it work?

Short answer: Maybe. It helps body use vitamin B1 and phosphorus better, which could help if got lucky and that is what the person needed. It is helpful for energy production at the cellular level. Supports processing of fats and carbohydrates, mitochondria (where energy is made in our cells), blood sugar balance, iron metabolism. Oftentimes hair loss is a sign of a loss of energy in the body so it could be helpful I guess.

Longer answer: Nutrients are never needed in isolation, they work together. Taking just biotin without its co-factors (other nutrients that are needed to use Biotin) can deplete the co-factors and then it is a chasing game to get the nutrient the body needs…
More effective than taking Biotin supplement (or a random hair growth supplement) is to go through bloodwork, health history, medication interactions, diet and mineral testing (HTMA) to determine what the person’s body needs. Specifically HTMA testing shows the persons metabolic rate and which minerals are being burned through rapidly, which are in low supply and a lot can be gleaned from this info to get the body back in balance, get cells making energy efficiently… which is the ultimate goal to healing any body ailment or symptom, it all comes down to energy that the cells need.

Everyday I help people with these tools – HTMA testing, bloodwork and symptom review – to help you figure out the steps to getting your body back in balance. Book an appointment today!