I felt pretty confident going into my trial that I was OK. I am using less biotin than the trial I am "enhancing" and distributing it more evenly.
It occurred to me, however (was pointed out by someone on thisisms.com), that I am consuming A LOT of filler. So here are the fillers in the first brand of biotin I'm using along with what I could find about OD risk:
Xylitol:
"Very high doses of xylitol given by IV have been reported to cause high uric acid levels in the blood (which could increase the risk of kidney stones), changes in liver function tests (which could indicate stress to the liver), and high acid levels in the blood. There problems are not predicted to occur for other routes of xylitol use, such as in gum or candy." - I feel OK here
Cellulose Gum:
"Your body is not able to break down cellulose gum, so it simply passes through your digestive tract and you do not absorb it into your bloodstream. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that cellulose gum appears to have no effect on humans, except that the dietary bulk may fill you up and thus decrease the nutritive value of your diet. Nutrition labels for products containing cellulose gum can be misleading because products that contain cellulose gum sometimes include it in the dietary fiber count even though the body doesn't absorb it. The FDA also cautions that the consumption of large quantities of cellulose gum may have a laxative effect." - OK
Povidone (polyvinylpyrrolidone or PVP): PVP is a synthetic polymer used as a dispersing and suspending agent in virtually all encapsulated nutritional supplements; considered to be a potential carcinogen. - uh oh
Magnesium Stearate: This commonly used excipient can be made from animal or vegetable sources. It is used as a flowing agent and lubricant. It is insoluble in water and may hinder the absorption of nutrients. Research shows it suppresses the immune system. - uh oh
These last two have me a little concerned. I'll look up the stuff that is en route from Amazon. If it has bad fillers too I may have to consider ordering the pure biotin and having it compounded.
Natrol stuff is at least missing the carcinogen. Compounding pharmacy would charge $300 for 1 month's worth and would still contain cellulose. They would also require a prescription which may not be easily obtained.
ReplyDeleteSo the plan for now is to use up what I've got, then use up what I've ordered, then possibly switch to a more "all natural" vege capsule. Within the vege capsule group there are two brands. One of which claims no fillers and would cost about $200 per month. The other contains cellulose and triglycerides (but no magnesium stearate) and would cost about $80 per month. The baseline is the natrol at $45 per month.
ReplyDeleteAnother consideration is to go to 5mg per hour on the supernatural stuff. This still gets me to 100 mg per day. Since the body excretes the excess it is likely that this will be an adequate dosing regimen. Then I could choose the "no filler" route and still keep it to $100 / month. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteMixing in vege capsules now to reduce inactive ingredient overload. Still at 10 mg per dose. 18-20 doses per day.
ReplyDelete