Essential Guide to Vitamin H Benefits, Deficiency and Sources

Vitamin H is also known as biotin. Vitamin H is not exactly one of the better known vitamins out there, but when it comes to staying healthy you may not be able to do much better with a natural source for helping combat pain and depression than vitamin H.

Natural Sources of Vitamin H
Vitamin H is available in a number of different natural sources. Of course, the natural sources containing biotin are not necessarily expansive enough to meet every kind of taste. If you are a big fan of nuts, you can easily get enough vitamin H in your diet by snacking on almonds, walnuts, peanuts, peanut butter and cashews. Seafood lovers can get vitamin H into their diet with generous helpings of clams, mackerel, salmon and tuna. Vegetarians are especially capable of receiving a healthy dose of biotin by making sure to include brown rice, bulgur wheat, lentils, green peas, mushrooms and soybeans in their meals. The rest of you can get vitamin H by including bananas, butter, calf liver, chicken, cheese, oatmeal and milk in your diet.

Benefits of Vitamin H

Vitamin H is useful in helping along the process of metabolizing amino acids and carbohydrates. Biotin is also useful for promoting the health of your nerve tissues, sex glands, bone marrow, blood cells, skin hair and sweat glands. Additional benefits to making sure you get a healthy supply of vitamin H include reducing your odds of a developing a zinc deficiency, alleviating muscle pain and helping with the effects of depression.

Symptoms of Vitamin H Deficiency

Keep in mind that in developed countries, the risk of vitamin H deficiency is very low. A lack of an appropriate amount of vitamin H can result in symptoms in adults such as a loss of appetite, feelings of fatigue, increasing feelings of depression, hair loss, nausea, anemia and potentially serious conditions like enlarged liver and conjunctivitis. A deficiency of vitamin H in babies can result in scaling skin on the scalp and face.

Vitamin H Interaction Issues

The effectiveness of vitamin H can be reduced due to interactions with other substances. You will want to low your intake of alcohol when taking vitamin H because liquor decreases absorption. Tobacco is decreases absorption of vitamin H which is the reason why heavy smokers often require supplemental supplies of biotin. Athletes and fans of the "Rocky" movies should be aware that consuming large amounts of raw egg whites can result in a deficiency of vitamin H since egg whites contain a property known as avidin. Avidin obstructs proper absorption of vitamin H into the body.