Can I Take Biotin with Metformin?

If you are diabetic you may be struggling to find the right options for supplements with medicines and other life-saving drugs. Diabetes is an annoying medical condition that can your inner body.

Most diabetic patients wonder if it’s safe to take vitamins. They take vitamins to offset shortcomings of necessary vitamins. If vitamins are good for diabetics, then why not supplements? Well, let us find out.

Supplements are the addition of vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, or enzymes to your medicine. Dietary supplements are compounds you may take to add vital nutrients to your diet. This can help you lower the risk of health issues like arthritis, diabetes, and more.

You can take supplements through pills, capsules, tablets, oil, and or liquid forms. Therefore, taking biotin as a supplement with metformin makes it the right choice. However, it could also lead to complications, in some cases. 

Metformin

Metformin, a derivative of biguanide is in use for over a hundred years for treating type2 diabetic patients. It may well be used either alone or in combination with other agents.

We also know it as Glucophage and fortamet. Although is it commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, it may be a source of treatment for pre-diabetes and gestational diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is weakening of your body, for regulating and using sugar as a fuel. This weakening results in excessive sugar in bloodstream, hampering your circulatory, nervous and immune systems.

Metformin is a type2 diabetes drug, available in the USA since the mid-90s. It came at the back of some evidence that metformin can lower your plasma glucose levels.

Metformin gives the best results for patients having polycystic ovary syndrome and women suffering ovulation problems. This medicine helps to keep low levels of insulin.

This medicine is prescribed when a patient does not follow a strict diet and exercise regimen. You may find that metformin will methodically lower your blood sugar levels in three ways.

• It suppresses sugar production by the liver
• It increases sensitivity for liver, fats, muscle, etc. to the corresponding insulin your body makes
• It may reduce the absorption rate of carbs consumption

All these symptoms make it an excellent medicine for diabetes type2 treatment.

Opting for biotin with metformin is a supplementary intake. Supplements have now become common for anything and everything. Supplements are suggested to stay healthy and free of ailments.

Benefits of Metformin

Metformin is well accepted by most people with type 2 diabetes. Its effectiveness has made it a first-line therapy with American Diabetes standards of care. Its benefits may include:

• Helping Pre-diabetes (a stage of higher than normal blood sugar levels)
• Cardio-protective for diabetics
• Increasing fertility rates in poly-cystic ovary syndrome
• Support for avoiding breast, and possibly prostate cancer
• Neuro-protection that can help reduce dementia
• Low production of glucose by the liver
• An uptake in your skeletal muscles because of increasing GLUT, glucose transportation
• Glucose absorption in intestines

Certain study cases and on-going research suggests that metformin may help in other medical conditions. It may mitigate the effects or lowering the intensity of various cancer conditions like:

• Breast Cancer
• Blood Cancer
• Colorectal Cancer
• Endometrial Cancer
• Melanoma (skin cancer) and
• Bone Cancers
• It may help you fight against:
• Obesity
• Liver Diseases
• Cardiovascular Diseases and
• Renal Diseases

Possible Benefits

The researchers are making experiments and studying the results to see if metformin can be a helping agent for conditions like:

• Neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's disease, etc
• Vision problems like macular degeneration

However, it may take a while to have a conclusive opinion on whether metformin can be effective in these conditions. 

Side Effects of Metformin Include:

It’s not surprising to see side effects of metformin. There could be more side effects besides the given list, but these are the most common side effects observed widely.

• Diarrhoea
• Gas (flatulence)
• Symptoms of weakness, muscle pain (myalgia)
• Infection in respiratory tracts
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• Abdominal pains
• Lactic acidosis (rare) and
• Low blood levels of vitamin B-12.

Downside for Metformin

Type1 Diabetes and Metformin

Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which your pancreas produces enough or no insulin. Insulin is a hormone required for allowing sugar to enter cells for producing energy.

Sadly, until now, metformin has shown no improvement for type1 diabetes. Nonetheless, in certain cases medical practitioners have prescribed it for type1 diabetics. 

In such cases Metformin has shown great results. First, it lowers sugar production in liver. This is a main problem for type1 diabetics. Second, it may help accelerate insulin sensitivity. However, it is important remember that these results are for those patients who are overweight. Otherwise it’s a downside for metformin for showing no positive effect on type1 diabetes. 

What is the best time to take metformin?

Metformin is mostly taken 2 or 3 times a day, depending upon the doctors’ prescribed quantity. This is in order to avoid stomach and bowel side effects. 

It’s mostly taken with the breakfast or dinner.

Biotin

Biotin is B-vitamin, which comes from several foods. It converts food intake into energy. Biotin effects to promote a healthy pregnancy period and manages blood sugar levels. It forms fatty acids and glucose. It helps metabolize carbohydrates and amino acids in the body. You may find it helpful in breaking down the fats in your body. Biotin will also help boost your hair and nail health.

These functions make biotin an important part of generating the energy to suffice your body needs.

Biotin is vitamin B-7. You can find it in foods and beverages like milk, carrots, dry nuts, and salmon fish. It’s a great supplement if needed. Remember; take biotin as a supplement, as per the doctor's advice. Otherwise, results may not be good for your health.

Plus side for biotin

It not only creates energy but also helps maintain your overall body functions. Like all vitamins, your body also needs biotin to stay healthy. Several systems in your body like the liver, nervous system, hair, and eyes need biotin for better functioning.

At present, there’s an aggressive search, finding benefits you can get from biotin.

In the meantime, there are several proven benefits you can get from biotin. You will find biotin has a great positive effect in treating certain medical conditions that include:

1. hypoglycaemia
2. glucose control (in combination with chromium picolinate)
3. acts as an anti-inflammatory agent
4. hyperlipidaemia
5. lowers your blood sugar, and
6. may help to increase your HDL “good” cholesterol and offsets bad cholesterol

These conditions have shown improvement after taking biotin as per the doctor’s recommendations.

Top 10 Foods for Obtaining Biotin

After studying the plus sides and benefits of biotin, it makes sense to know from which foods you can get it. These known foods to contain biotin include:

1. Egg yolk
2. Organ meat (like liver and kidney)
3. Nuts (like almonds, pecans, walnuts, and peanuts, etc.)
4. Soybeans
5. Legumes
6. Whole grains
7. kinds of cereal
8. Cauliflower
9. Bananas
10. Mushrooms

Fetal Improvement

Biotin deficiency in pregnant women is not common but it can happen. So taking a vitamin with biotin and folic acid may be very good during breastfeeding to help the baby’s wellbeing.

However, an overdose of biotin may be harmful to infants, so consult your doctor to ensure taking an adequate and right amount of biotin for best results.

Negative Side Effects

Although biotin is available as a supplement, you can only take it if your doctor recommends it. In contrast, many people can get enough biotin from their daily diet. It may be well to advise the doctor before taking biotin with vitamins and other supplements. It may be harmful otherwise.

Until now, there’s no evidence for negative effects as long as biotin is taken as per the doctor’s advice. 

However, there are cases where certain dietary or other habits may have led to biotin deficiency. Like, women who smoke are at risk for increasing the metabolism of biotin in their bodies, a major cause for biotin deficiency.

You may find the following, as common symptoms for biotin deficiency:

• Loss of hair or its thinning  
• High level of cholesterol
• Skin rashes, and
• Heat problems

Another case study concludes avoid eating egg whites alone, otherwise, it may lead to biotin deficiency in a short time. It can further aggravate to a condition of limb fatigue. This is very close to quadriplegia.

So, its consumption in either case, without a doctor’s advice may be troublesome for you. So be careful in doing self-medication.

Conclusion

Biotin surely helps improve glucose levels and reduces pain from diabetic nerve damages. Biotin being a B vitamin is needed to support glucose. At various stages, biotin is good to reverse the negative impact of chronic insulin levels. In some preclinical studies, the researchers are unanimous that biotin has can play a vital role in regulating blood sugar and metabolism.

Biotin is good for both type1 and type2 diabetes. It has shown excellent results for reducing fasting blood sugar down to 50% in type1 diabetes. 

Metformin has positive effects for managing blood sugar levels in patients having type2 diabetes. It helps insulin to manage that and it may be best to use it with a meal. This will offset its side effects if any.

So yes, you may use biotin as a supplement with metformin. However, this is a good formulation for type2 diabetes only. Until now metaformin has no conclusive and positive impact for type1 diabetic patients.

However, you must consult your doctor to take biotin supplements with metformin. The doctor will suggest you the right quantity of biotin which you may need to go with metformin.