Vitamin H
Water-soluble vitamin H - biotin - enters the human body with food, and can also be synthesized in the intestines. Vitamin H is involved in all metabolic processes (protein, fat and carbohydrate), the synthesis of proteins, stearins and acids, and with its deficiency, anemia and various dermatoses can develop. In some sources, vitamin H is called vitamin B7.
The value of biotin. Vitamin H in foods
Biotin has a stimulating effect on the formation of fatty acids, as well as on their processing together with carbohydrates. The minimum daily requirement for vitamin H is approximately 0.15-0.2 mg. For pregnant and lactating women, this dose is 0.25-0.3 mg per day.
Foods containing vitamin H are:
- Yeast;
- Milk;
- Liver;
- Kidneys;
- Chicken eggs;
- Nuts;
- A fish.
It is also included in various multivitamin complexes, which are prescribed during a period of acute need for vitamins (intense growth, physical activity), as well as with a decrease in consumption (diseases of the digestive tract, old age, unbalanced diets). Unlike a number of other vitamins, the risk of overdose with biotin is minimal.
Vitamin H deficiency
There is a direct relationship between the condition of the hair and its health and the sufficient level of vitamin H in the human body. In particular, it is biotin that regulates the daily amount of hair loss, is the prevention of baldness and prevents the appearance of gray hair.
As vitamin H deficiency progresses, symptoms such as pallor, dryness and peeling of the skin join. Dermatitis appears in the lips. In severe cases, nausea, lack of appetite, drowsiness, weakness, depression, hair loss, conjunctivitis, muscle pain and loss of muscle tone, impaired coordination of movements, anemia, increased blood sugar and "bad" cholesterol levels are observed.
In practice, nutritional deficiencies in vitamin H are rare. As a rule, it can be found in people who have eaten raw chicken egg proteins for a long time, since they contain a substance that binds biotin and prevents its absorption. Also, vitamin H deficiency is observed in patients who are on parenteral nutrition for a long time and do not receive biotin preparations. Sometimes it is possible with prolonged antibiotic therapy, when the intestinal microflora is not able to fully synthesize this substance.
A lack of vitamin H can also develop against the background of a deficiency of magnesium, which should activate biotin, with the constant use of saccharin instead of sugar, as well as products whose preservatives are sulfur compounds. Biotin deficiency is also observed in alcohol abusers.
Vitamin H deficiency can be confirmed or refuted by laboratory urine testing - its daily excretion should be between 11 and 183 mcg. If biotin deficiency is suspected, a trial treatment is prescribed - 10 mg of the substance per day. Improvement of the patient's condition and the disappearance of symptoms against the background of trial therapy are confirmation of the diagnosis.
Lack of vitamin H in the body can also be observed with a hereditary disease - biotinidase deficiency. More often, the disease manifests itself in the first few days after the birth of a child, but in some cases it can develop gradually and go unnoticed in the early stages.
With this metabolic disorder, biotin taken with food is not released during digestion and assimilation of proteins by cells. Without correction of the condition, this category of patients has mental disorders, paroxysmal convulsions, learning problems, and in advanced cases, coma develops, followed by death. To normalize the quality of life of such patients, it is necessary to provide them with a daily amount of vitamin H at the level of 5-10 mg.
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