Biotin can skew test results

Biofuel; biotin supplements; biosphere: Which “bio” does the Food and Drug Administration recommend you avoid if you want to get a proper reading on a specific heart enzyme or a thyroid hormone test?

The answer is vitamin B-7, also known as the water-soluble vitamin biotin. It’s found in dietary supplements used for hair, skin and nail growth, as well as multi and some prenatal vitamins.

The FDA wants you to know that too much biotin in your system can result in a falsely low result on a blood test for troponin, a clinical biomarker that helps in diagnosis of a heart attack. And according to other studies, high doses of biotin can skew lab test results for thyroid hormones, which can lead to an overdiagnosis of Graves’ disease, or hyperthyroidism.

The FDA also says, 30 mcg a day of biotin is adequate intake for adults and essential for good health of the skin, nails and the liver. Biotin deficiency is rare in healthy people. But moms-to-be and breastfeeding moms need to take supplements (ask your doc) to assure proper fetal development and infant health. For the rest of you, if you have two to three daily servings of 100 percent whole grains, eat plenty of nuts like walnuts, pecans and almonds, and have at least a couple of servings of wild salmon and ocean trout every week, you don’t need biotin supplements.

However, if you’re taking antibiotics or meds for epilepsy, ask your doc if a supplement is a good idea.