Speaking of Women's Health
The Speaking of Women's Health Podcast is excited to bring you credible women's health information from host and Executive Director, Dr. Holly L. Thacker. Dr. Thacker will interview guest clinicians discussing relevant women's health topics and the latest news and tips.
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Speaking of Women's Health
Does Biotin Really Help Hair Grow?
Ever wonder how vital biotin is for your hair, skin and nails? Host Dr. Holly Thacker helps you discover its critical role not just for your beauty routine but also for pregnancy. She also discusses the roles of potassium, protein and key vitamins in maintaining those luscious locks.
The conversation doesn't stop there; Dr. Thacker shares nutrient-dense foods that can transform your meals while being kind to your waistline.
Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...
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Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health podcast and happy new year 2025. I'm your host, dr Holly Thacker, the Executive Director of Speaking of Women's Health, and I'm back in the Sunflower House in the third season for a new episode of the Speaking of Women's Health podcast, and we're going to talk about biotin and also talk about nutrient-dense foods. So what is biotin? Biotin is vitamin H, also known as B7,. It's one of the B-complex vitamins that help the body convert food into energy and, like all B vitamins, it's water-soluble, which means our body does not store it, and any amount in the body that is not absorbed is usually excreted in the urine. So vitamin H stands for haar and hot, which are the German words for hair and skin. And what woman doesn't care about her hair and skin? In fact, my office staff I'm looking at you, alexandra, our lead nurse she's always telling me oh, you need to moisturize your hair. Oh, please put some rosemary oil on your scalp to help your scalp, you know, protect your hair from the sun so it doesn't get damaged. So women tend to associate their femininity with hair, and I've talked a lot about hair on some of our prior podcasts, in fact, season one, june of 2023, and season two in June of 2024, right around Father's Day mid-June, and season two in June of 2024, right around Father's Day mid-June. I had podcasts dedicated to hair and that hair thinning is not just for dear old dad or the male sex. So biotin has got that reputation for skin and hair. I think clinically it actually is better for the nails than the hair, but biotin is an important vitamin that is needed for your not just your hair and skin and nails, but your eyes and your liver and your central nervous system. And biotin is also a crucial nutrient during pregnancy, as it's important for the growth of the embryo and fetus. And even though speaking of women's health is primarily focused on midlife and beyond, which is kind of my area of specialization as a specialized women's health physician specializing in menopause and hormones and all things midlife, preventive health and functional medicine and anti-aging, we do cover a lot of younger women's health topics and we have a number of podcasts on pregnancy. One in August of 2023 was on breastfeeding. So there's a lot of great information that you can easily access and listen to when you're exercising or walking or doing chores.
Speaker 1:So, getting back to biotin, how much do you need? Well, it kind of depends on your age. From birth to six months, neonates and babies only need five micrograms. Infants from seven to 12 months need six micrograms. Toddlers from one to three need eight micrograms, need 8 micrograms. Children like my granddaughter Artemis, who's 4, 4 to 8 years of age, need 12 micrograms. Older children, 9 to 13, need 20 micrograms. Teenagers need 25 micrograms. Adults in general need 30 micrograms and breastfeeding teens and women um at least 30 to 35, uh micrograms.
Speaker 1:So many skin and hair vitamins have 5,000 micrograms or even 10,000, sometimes mega, mega doses of biotin sometimes are used in central nervous conditions such as multiple sclerosis, and most of us get enough biotin from the food we eat, but there are some people who are more likely than others to have trouble getting enough biotin. So people with a rare genetic disorder called biotinidase deficiency, people that have alcohol dependence and we have a lot of good information on speaking of Women's Health, about substance abuse, alcohol problems, smoking cessation of which we have an upcoming podcast on smoking cessation, which is so important and also pregnant and breastfeeding women need just more nutrients. In general, biotin is definitely necessary for a healthy pregnancy. Like all the B vitamins, including folic acid and L-methylfolate, is a much longer acting, bioavailable, bioactive B complex vitamin compared to just plain folate. Studies show that about a third of pregnant women in the United States have some biotin deficiency, and we need more research to understand why, but I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the American diet, and if you have not heard our podcast on food freedom and banned foods and a lot of the toxic substances that are gratuitously in our food supply, it's really worth a listen or a read if you go on speakingonwomanshealthcom.
Speaker 1:So, during pregnancy, women need good sources of protein. They need good sources of B-complex vitamins Choline Choline is very important for the brain of B-complex vitamins. Choline Choline is very important for the brain. And we also need omega-3s, and a lot of women are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids or they have too much omega-6 from some of the seed oils and processed foods in our diet. And it is important to know, though, that super high doses of biotin, though, can be dangerous to the developing baby, so additional supplementation is generally not recommended. Now, choline like eating an egg a day has shown brain benefits to babies and also young children.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about some of the biotin rich foods Meat, beef, liver so three ounces of beef liver has 30 micrograms of biotin, and that makes complete sense because most of the biotin is actually stored in our liver. So any type of liver is generally high in biotin. Salmon Well, three ounces of salmon has five micrograms of biotin, and salmon's also a rich source of omega-3, which is also good for the hair, and it's kind of low in purines, because some of the fish foods that are really good in omega-3s can be high in purines and that can, in some people, increase the risk of gout. So it's this constant balance and some of it depends on your metabolism and your genetics and other medications that you're on. Eggs Eggs are a wonderful nutritional source. Not only do they have choline and high protein, but, um, and they're low in calories and they're filling. Uh, one egg has about 10 micrograms of biotin. So when I have my grandchildren I really always try to make some sort of egg dish Seeds and nuts Uh, a sunflower seed a quarter cup has 2.6 micrograms.
Speaker 1:Almonds a quarter cup have 1.5 micrograms, which is kind of low, but also the almonds have the omega-3s. Vegetables sweet potatoes a half a cup has 2.5 micrograms. Spinach a half a cup has just a half of a microgram. Broccoli, which is a cruciferous vegetable which does have a little bit of omega-3s actually, and has DIM, which is an anti-HPV substance that helps fight. It has about 0.4 micrograms. An avocado a medium avocado has 1.85 micrograms of biotin. Tuna another source that's really rich in omega-3, but it does have more purines Three ounces has 0.6 micrograms of biotin. Now, in general we don't recommend eating tuna more than once a week because some tuna is contaminated with mercury, and pregnant and breastfeeding women do have to be aware of this.
Speaker 1:Dairy If you didn't hear my podcast on all things cheese and healthy cheese, you should definitely listen to that one. And I think one way to find out as opposed to scrolling through our almost hundreds of podcasts that we already have posted is if you go on speakingofwomenshealthcom and put in podcast and then the topic you're interested in, or just the topic you're interested in, it will bring up articles as well as podcasts. That's a fast way and then you get the date and it will tell you what episode and what season to go to, and also there is a search feature on the podcast of season one and season two and now season three. So dairy cheddar cheese one ounce has 0.4 micrograms of biotin. A cup of 2% milk has 0.4 micrograms of biotin. A cup of 2% milk has 0.3 micrograms. A cup of plain yogurt which is really good for your gut, microbiome, is good for calcium and protein is filling is 0.2 micrograms of biotin.
Speaker 1:Legumes like soybeans and roasted peanuts are rich in biotin and also good sources of protein and fiber. Mushrooms, which really have so many nutrients. I really wish I liked mushrooms. I do like truffle sauce, elegant foods, but in general mushrooms are very nutritious and 120 grams of canned button mushrooms contain 2.6 micrograms of biotin, which is almost 20, which is almost 10% of your recommended daily amount.
Speaker 1:Bananas bananas which are also rich in magnesium, which a lot of women don't get enough of, which are also rich in magnesium, which a lot of women don't get enough of. One small banana has 0.2 micrograms of biotin. An oatmeal a cup of oatmeal has 0.2 micrograms of biotin. So if you sprinkle some almonds and slice up some bananas and add a splash of milk, you're getting a decent amount of biotin. So if you eat a balanced diet and you're healthy, it's really rare to get biotin deficiency.
Speaker 1:But there are symptoms if you're low on biotin, like hair thinning, red rash around your eyes, nose and genital areas, brittle nails that crack depression areas, brittle nails that crack depression. Also, low zinc levels and low omega-3 levels and low B-complex levels, like B12, can be associated with depression, and for a list of zinc-rich foods, just put in the word zinc on speakinginwomenshealthcom PekingWomensHealthcom. Other signs of low biotin can be lethargy, hallucinations, paresthesias or numbness of your hands and feet. That implies that there is nerve irritation and even outright seizures or convulsions. Now, while biotin is great for your body and is necessary, it is important to understand the biotin warning and actually when our women patients see us in the Center for Specialized Women's Health, we have this big X mark with a biotin warning, because a lot of people don't realize that high doses of biotin really interfere and cause crazy lab results which can result in some disasters. Because if you have heart failure or heart attack and you go to the emergency room and your labs are falsely normal, they're not going to think that you have a heart problem. But if you're on high doses of biotin, that could falsely affect the blood work. Also, it affects a lot of other commonly ordered labs that we order, like hormone levels and estrogen and thyroid, and so many of the hair and nail supplements contain mega doses like 5,000 to up to 10,000 micrograms. So if you are getting blood work done, it's important that you should stop taking biotin supplements three days before the test.
Speaker 1:And because of all the lab interferences I've seen, I'm just not a big fan of using supplements. I'm a fan of supplementing vitamin D because a lot of people can't get enough in their diet if they don't eat like an Alaskan and most people just don't live near the equator year-round to expose their skin. I'm also a big fan of magnesium because that's the second most common deficiency. But in general, it's best to get your nutrients from your foods. I'm not a super big fan of taking omega-3 supplements either. Some patients have to. They just won't eat any seafood and they don't eat enough of the non-seafood variety to get the right ratios of omega-3. So just remember, if you're having blood tests done for heart for BNP a heart failure blood test, anemia, folate, b12, estrogen, thyroid that you can get really wacky results that aren't accurate.
Speaker 1:So what are the truth about these biotin supplements? They're very much promoted for improving nail, skin and hair Because, as I've said before, we women do a lot of things for skin and hair and some of our most popular podcasts are on skin and hair, our skincare estheticians that we had in season one and season two about all these great skincare products. In fact, I finally did go get that perfect peel and I was so afraid to do it because I thought it would just be so uncomfortable. It wasn't Aesthetician Lori Skarsgård was right, it was great. It, you know, helped tighten the pores and just bring new, fresh skin. So I understand that women want to have a thick mane, but taking mega doses for most people is not going to help and there are so many other things that you can do to be healthy and, as I mentioned, I see more clinical improvement in the nails. I do recommend collagen supplements like gelatin. I think that helps the hair and the nails.
Speaker 1:Using really good skincare products and protecting your hair from harsh chemicals, from the harsh sunlight. I've started to use a spray on kind of sunscreen for the hair and I'm trying to be more consistent with wearing a full cap as opposed to just a golf visor when I'm outside golfing. So, like we said, the recommended dose is between 30 to 35 micrograms and it's best to get it from natural sources. If you're taking a multiple vitamin, look to see how much biotin is in it. If it's much over 300 micrograms. It's really going to interfere with your blood work and I think it's just a good idea to always bring in your supplements not pictures, but the actual bottles to look at the lot number and the expiration and to see exactly what's in everything.
Speaker 1:You have been listening to the Speaking Women's Health Podcast and I am your host, dr Holly Thacker, in the Sunflower House in season three. I'm talking all things biotin as well as talking about super nutrient dense foods, which is kind of hopefully getting the most bang for your buck in terms of the most nutrients and not much calories. So that's another thing that we women care so much about is our weight. So, in terms of diabetes management, some studies show that biotin may help manage some of the symptoms of diabetes by lowering blood sugar and cholesterol and some blood fats. It doesn't really have too much effects on insulin, uh, and it also may be used in neurologic conditions like multiple sclerosis. I remember um moving to to start my residency several years ago and I had so many patients many young women and some men and some older patients with multiple sclerosis, which can be a pretty devastating disease because it affects various parts of the nervous system, both the brain and the peripheral nervous system and spinal cord in various spaces at various times, and now we do have a lot more potent treatments to affect the immune system. Boosting vitamin D is significant, and I remember wondering why, when you go farther north, do you have more multiple sclerosis? Well, you also have less sun and much lower vitamin D levels, and so vitamin D and nutrients play such an important role in so many disease conditions.
Speaker 1:Now I want to shift and talk a little bit about some nutrient dense foods. There's a great assessment of like which foods kind of pack the most nutrients per punch and at the 100% rating in terms of comparing all of them, in terms of giving a score like the top, top, top number is watercress. They're so low in calories and they're so stocked full of nutrients. I add watercress to some of my chicken dishes, some of my vegetable dishes. They give a nice crunch. They're not very much calories. In fact, last Thanksgiving, when I was making my green bean casserole, my husband Tom said well, it doesn't call for watercress in the traditional green bean Thanksgiving casserole. And I'm like I know your wife, who's a physician, who's not necessarily that great a cook, certainly does know a lot about nutrition though, and that's why I add the watercress and I put in a second jar of them for a good measure.
Speaker 1:Chinese cabbage that is a fun thing to experiment with with various dishes. Obviously it's in a lot of ethnic foods. Sometimes I think it's underused and it clocks in at almost 92. Chard is at 89. Beet greens at 87.
Speaker 1:And just a little word about beets and red beets. They really do promote nitric oxide, which is very important for artery walls. It's one reason why estrogen has such good benefits in recently menopausal women in terms of cardiovascular prevention is, besides improving lipids in many women, it also improves nitric oxide. It's a mild calcium channel blocker, helps keep things elastic, and one of the foods that's really rich in nitric oxide is red beets. Now, if you have a lot of red beets it will make you think that you're having rectal bleeding because your stool can be quite red. So you have to kind of be prepared for that, and some people, like my husband, they just don't like the taste of beets and you can pop a um like red beet powder. Some people add it to smoothies Spinach good old spinach Um and that has some calcium in it. There are some omega threes in spinach, lots of B complex vitamins. It clocks in at 86. Chicory clocks in at 73. Leaf lettuce you know some people say, oh, it's just worthless, there's hardly any calories. You're just, you know, exercising your jaw by chewing and that's not true. Actually it has a nutrient density score of 70.
Speaker 1:Parsley A lot of people just use parsley for a garnish, but it has a lot of nutrients. It freshens the breath. Some people say there's a mild aphrodisiac component to it. I have a nice column up on herbs and spices where I go into some of the lore and some of the science with these accoutrements. One of my favorite recipes, on Speaking of Women's Health, is the Italian wedding soup. You use sirloin beef and there's some egg and there's some parmesan cheese and you also chop up small amounts of fresh parsley to put in the little mini meatballs and use an orzo type pasta and have lots of spinach. And on a winter day, oh, that is such a soothing soup. So it's not just for weddings and maybe we'll put that link in the show notes.
Speaker 1:Romaine lettuce clocks in at 63. I like to chop up romaine lettuce and stir fry it in a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle just a little bit of garlic and salt and pepper and not have to use any type of dressing other than just. You know I use the extra virgin olive oil in the skillet and that that makes for a nice, warm, wilted salad. Collard greens A lot of people like to have collard greens on New Year's day. There's a lot of nutrients. Cloxin at 62. Turnip greens also at 62 and mustard green at 61. Endive is an interesting tasting vegetable used in salads that clocks in at 60. Chive, which is great for seasoning and also decoration, clocks in at 54.
Speaker 1:Kale you know there's always this oh, is kale the new spinach? Well, spinach does outrank kale on lots of levels of nutrients and some people do have trouble digesting kale. So kale clocks in at 49. When I use kale I like to break it into tiny little pieces and massage olive oil to soften it and then put some seasoning and maybe add chickpeas, maybe a little bit of fruit, sometimes some quinoa which is pretty rich in protein. Dandelion greens a lot of times that's used at fancy restaurants clocks in at 46. Red pepper, which can be used in so many dishes and used just to eat plain or with dips, is 41. Arugula 37. Broccoli 34. Pumpkin you know pumpkin is not just for Thanksgiving. It is so rich in vitamin A, which is good for the skin. Now, vitamin A is definitely a vitamin. That's a true vitamin, as opposed to vitamin D. And just twice the daily amount can be toxic to a developing fetus and can deposit in the liver. So I have seen people overdose on vitamin E, these people who decide to eat a bag of carrots a day as an example, but pumpkin clocks in at 33.
Speaker 1:Brussels sprouts my husband calls them the green gonads. Brussel sprouts Uh, my husband calls them the green gonads. Oh, I love brussel sprouts. Um, and there's so many different ways to roast them, to grill them. I like to just slice them in half and, uh, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the bottom and just put them face down and and bake them. Uh, and that's one of my fun, easy ways of doing that. And Brussels sprouts do have omega-3 in them and clock in at 32. And also are really good at having that substance, dim, which we really encourage.
Speaker 1:Foods like broccoli, brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, cauliflower, cabbage particularly for anybody who has HPV, human papillomavirus, scallion at 27, great to season things. Anything in the onion family I love. Kohlrabi clocks in at 25. Cauliflower clocks in at 25. And actually, raw cauliflower contains nicotine. Just as a little interesting thought, Cabbage clocks in at 24. I love cabbage, cabbage noodles, cold slaw. What's cold slaw without cabbage? Carrots clock in at 22. Tomato 20. They have a lot of lycopene. It's good for the eyes, for prostate health. Lemon, which has citrus in it. It's good for reducing kidney stones. I always tell my patients with a history of kidney stones to always add some citrus or lemon to their water. If you didn't listen to our podcast on kidney stones, that's a good one to go back to listen to.
Speaker 1:Good old iceberg lettuce is not worthless by any means, and it's not just something to have you chew on. It actually clocks in at 18 on the nutrient density score. Strawberries 17. Radish 16. All varieties of winter squash 13. Orange, 12. Lime 12. Grapefruit both the pink and the red 11. Rutabaga and turnips clock in at 11. Blackberries and blackberries and blueberries and raspberries have all sorts of polyphenols and antioxidants, and blackberries clock in at 11. Leekseks at 10. Sweet potato at 10. And then white grapefruit at 10. Grapefruit's very interesting.
Speaker 1:It can affect metabolism of medicines and if you did not read our column on foods as medicine and foods that interact with medicine, that's very important. A lot of times people get very strict instructions on, um, what foods not to eat before surgery for anesthesia. And, uh, if you go on some wild grapefruit diet where you're eating you know grapefruits multiple times a day I know that was a craze for a while. That can really interact with various medications, including blood pressure medicines and other critical medications. So you might ask well, how do we get this rating of 100 to 10?
Speaker 1:It didn't look at every single nutrient. I guess I should have started with that. It's based on a 2000 calorie diet, which for a lot of midlife women is more calories than you actually need, but maybe for a young adult or a growing person or a pregnant or breastfeeding woman. And it looked at potassium, fiber, protein, calcium we have so much information on our website on calcium Iron. A lot of women are low on iron. The very first podcast I did in season one was on iron.
Speaker 1:Thiamine, which is a B1 complex. Riboflavin is B2. We sometimes use high doses of riboflavin to help prevent migraine headaches. That's a common tip. I've had a lot of women get control of their migraines, which is boosting their magnesium and their riboflavin. And if you didn't hear my podcast on migraine headache, that's a very important one because half of us have migraine headaches headache, that's a very important one because half of us have migraine headaches.
Speaker 1:Niacin, folate although L-methylfolate is the most active one that helps support methionine in the body processes and people that have both genetic mutations for the MTHFR mutation don't convert regular folate to L-methylfolate and we have columns on MTHFR mutation and mood and attention spans and depression. And certainly a lot of foods are used or nutritional supplements to help boost the mood. Nutritional supplements to help boost the mood. Also in the 17 nutrients for ranking these foods was vitamin A, b6, which is pyridoxine. B12, which is the biggest largest vitamin, cyanocobalamin. I usually check B12 levels every five years, particularly in people over age 65 or people that are on glucovage metformin, which we've talked about in other podcasts in terms of for sugar control and anti-aging. People on stomach acid blockers like omeprazole. Protonics can be low in B12 and that can really affect your central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.
Speaker 1:Vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K there's K1 and there's K2. And our website has a great listing of what the differences are. K1 has to do with blood clotting. K2, also known as M7, is very important for bone health and driving calcium into the bones and not the arteries. Very few foods have K2. Japanese natto, which our fellow who's going to be on the podcast, dr Nayoung Sung, eats a lot of natto. She brought in some great fermented natto with different toppings for us to try, and these rankings of the 17 nutrients were based on 100 grams of food, expressed as 100 kilocrams of 100 kilocalories, and the scores were capped at 100, meaning that, on average, 100% of the daily amount of a qualifying nutrient per 100 calories. Now, some of these foods don't have very many calories, so you may not eat 100 calories of that food.
Speaker 1:So, in summary, it's best to get your essential nutrients and minerals and vitamins from your diet, and that includes biotin, which is that popular hair mainly nail B7 or vitamin H, and most of the research shows there's really not a benefit. I think biotin is thrown into other supplements. Zinc and iron help the hair, protein helps the hair. Some of the expensive hair vitamins that I talked about in the June of 2024 hair loss podcast, where I really went into all these different vitamins, some of them have saw palmetto, which is an herb that reduces testosterone, and obviously if you're a pregnant woman or if you're a woman who's low in testosterone, you don't want to necessarily be taking this saw palmetto.
Speaker 1:Nutritional deficiencies and stress and hormone imbalance are certainly common causes of hair loss. There are other skin disorders that can cause different types of hair loss that really need to be handled by a dermatologist or someone who's expert in that. The optimal iron ferritin level to maintain hair is at least 50 to 70. Low zinc levels I find low zinc levels regularly, just like I find very low vitamin D levels. Under 60 is just too low. Your body's going to try to conserve itself if you don't have enough nutrients, so extra things like skin and nails are not as critical to you staying alive. So think of it that way. Vitamin D levels for hair growth really should be up to 75. And I have a lot of women who get a vitamin D level of 80 or 83 and their nurse practitioner or their physician or somebody in the health field says oh, that's too high. Well, you can get too high in vitamin A, but it's very hard to get too high in vitamin D, and so lifeguards get levels of up to 150 in the summer. So a level of 80 or 90 is fine with me.
Speaker 1:Lack of good quality protein in the diet can impair hair growth. So you need really good protein, and ingesting high quality protein helps with satiety, helps with muscle repair and development, and too many of us are crowding out protein with carbohydrates. Now one thing I would like to say about vitamin D, though. There are some patients that have sarcoidosis, which is common the farther south you go, just like MS is more common the farther northern latitude you go, to the poles, the North Pole, some granulomas and sarcoma or sarcoidosis rather, sarcoidosis can make too much vitamin D. Now, low vitamin E levels and trace mineral deficiencies can also contribute to hair loss, and if you use olive oil and get lots of nuts and seeds, most people can get enough vitamin E in their diet. Now sometimes I do recommend separate vitamin E for people who've had a history of blood clots, for women with hot flashes.
Speaker 1:Now there are medicines that are associated with hair loss, like chemotherapy, and certainly taking oral minoxidil or Rogaine or Topical can be associated with hair growth or topical can be associated with hair growth. Votess is the hair vitamin that does not contain biotin but does contain trace minerals 0.8 milligrams of iron, 10 milligrams of zinc, which is pretty close to the RDA B-complex vitamins, and it also has an herb called ashwagandha which is touted at reducing adrenal stress, and it does have a probiotic hormone in it at doses of two capsules twice a day neutrophil. There's different formulations for pre-menopausal women, post-menopausal women and it has a very hefty dose of biotin at 2500 micrograms which, like I, definitely interferes with labs, other over-the-counter vitamin options or topical options topical minoxidil, 5% Rogaine I apply it with a Q-tip to my lateral eyebrows. Topical castor oil and rosemary oil have been used for eyelash, eyebrow and top of the head growth. Like my nurse is always telling me to put rosemary on my scalp, I have I don't know that it's made a difference. Revitalash you can put on the liners of your eyelashes. I've used it. I do think it makes the eyelashes longer. Contains topical peptides, topical biotin which I think is fine, and conditioners. But really, if you want to learn a lot more about hair loss treatments, products and options, please listen to my podcast or read my column on the latest on treatments for hair loss, hair thinning and alopecia. It has styling tips and I'm really impressed with so many of the detachable hair accessories. In fact, I've worn them a couple of times on the podcast or when I go to princess events with my granddaughters, because they like such long, long hair that I can't grow A lot of the wigs for our patients undergoing chemotherapy and losing hair with human hair or substances that are much more comfortable to put on the scalp and a baseball cap.
Speaker 1:Some women, you know, just will put on a baseball cap when they're undergoing chemotherapy. I saw a lovely woman in the office today who was just wrapping up her chemotherapy and she looked really quite stylish and chic in her baseball cap. And my cousin Marnie, who had Hodgkin's disease. She's dearly departed but she fought that cancer, had another cancer and lived several decades after her cancers. I remember when she underwent chemotherapy and was losing her long, beautiful blonde hair, which she did grow back. When she underwent chemotherapy and was losing her long, beautiful blonde hair, which she did grow back, she just put on a baseball cap.
Speaker 1:So, um, whatever it is that makes you uh, feel your best self and and so many women are so invested in hair, almost too much, because then it sets up this very stressful cycle of being so obsessed with the hair and getting so anxious, causing more adrenal stress hormones, causing more hair shedding. So that is a good summary on all things biotin and nutrient-dense foods and thank you all for joining us in the Sunflower House and if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe for free. Hit follow. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, spotify, tune in wherever you listen and if you enjoyed this episode, give us a five-star rating or share it. And thanks again, and I look forward to seeing you in the Sunflower House again. Remember, be strong, be healthy and be in charge.
