The Sunday Mail - 01.09.2019

September 1 • 2019 The Mail on Sunday Health 57

with skin, hair and nail disorders,

supplements containing these

ingredients were not helpful.

Another widescale analysis of

thousands of studies looking at how

supplements – including gummies

• affect hair loss found insufficient
  evidence that they work.
  So how do suppliers back up their
  claims? According to EU law, com­

panies are allowed to claim that

vitamins and minerals ‘support’ or

‘maintain’ health. However, some

manufacturers exaggerate this on

their sites, using claims such as

‘amazing hair growing properties’.

It is up to the UK’s advertising

watchdog, the Advertising Stan­

dards Agency, to check each claim

individually, meaning many false

ABOUT eight million women and

6.5 million men in the UK will experience

hair loss at some point, writes dietician

Carrie Ruxton. Common causes include

stress, an underactive thyroid, alopecia

and a lack of oestrogen and testosterone

following the menopause.

According to a report in the British

Medical Journal, so-called ‘female pattern

hair loss’ after the menopause is the most

common cause in women. Scientists do

not fully understand why but it is thought

that sex hormones lost in the menopause

are involved in the cycle of hair regrowth.

Hormone replacement therapy, given to

reduce the symptoms of menopause, has

been shown to improve hair, nails and skin

in some studies. Applying an over-the-

counter oil containing a medicine called

Minoxidil to the scalp has been seen to

show some improvement for women and

men with pattern baldness.

Ensuring you get ample iron in your diet

• via dark, leafy green vegetables and
  red meat – can also prevent hair loss and
  nail breakage. A cream containing retinol,
  a derivative of Vitamin A, can promote
  moisture and elasticity in the skin.
  Sadly, there is no good evidence that
  regular consumption of beauty
  supplements does much to improve any
  hair, nail or skin problems in the absence
  of deficiency.
  ... WHAT CAN

I DO INSTEAD?

or exaggerated claims fly under

the radar.

uSElESS f Or HAIr AND

A r IS k TO y Our HEAlTH

BUBBLING beneath the gummy

vitamin trend is a significant health

concern. Some biotin is essential

for health but excessive amounts in

some products (up to 500 egg yolks’­

worth is in a daily serving in Beauty

And The Bear hair, skin and nails)

are not only useless for hair, skin

and nails, but could be harmful.

Although Beauty And The Bear,

say that ‘no toxic level of biotin has

been established’, a recent study

in the Journal Of Nutrition found

taking a supplement for two weeks

containing even 15 times more

biotin than the recommended

amount of 50 micrograms daily led

to a fall in white blood cells – vital

for healthy immune function.

Researchers warned that it could

potentially increase the risk of

infections. Rather ironically, US

dermatologists claim excessive

amounts of biotin can lead to spotty

skin. As biotin and vitamin B5 act

on the same receptor, an overload

of the former can reduce the

amount of vitamin B5 the body is

able to absorb. Vitamin B5 strength­

ens the outer layer of the skin, help­

ing to block bacteria from the pores

and preventing spots.

But most concerning are warnings

by the US Food and Drug Adminis­

tration that excess biotin can inter­

fere with the results of dozens of

medical tests, including those to see

if someone has had a heart attack.

Consuming more than the recom­

mended 50 micrograms of biotin

daily has been seen in some studies

to lead to false diagnoses of serious

conditions such as thyroid disease.

These medical tests work by

adding biotin to blood samples, as

the vitamin binds to specific dis­

ease ­related proteins, making them

easier to spot. But if there’s too

much biotin already in the blood,

it appears to doctors as an excess

of disease proteins, leading to false

positive results.

TOO MuCH VITAMIN A

CAN DAMAGE THE lIVEr

IT’S not just an excess of biotin

that could cause problems else­

where in the body. Too much Vita­

min A in the diet could, strangely,

cause hair loss.

Excessive amounts cause blood

levels to become saturated, causing

a breakdown of hair follicle cells,

according to a review paper in Der­

matology and Therapy.

Of more concern, large amounts

of Vitamin A have been known to

cause liver and bone damage, accord­

ing to the British Nutrition Founda­

tion. Some gummies make up almost

60 per cent of the daily recom­

mended maximum intake of 1,500

micrograms. If you eat one cracker

and a generous spoon of liver paté,

you reach the upper limit.

Other ‘health’ sweets contain

additives that, in large quanti­

ties, are known to have embar­

rassing repercussions. A type of

sulphur called MSM – said to

rebuild skin tissue – has been linked

to headaches and stomach upsets.

Meanwhile, in those with irritable

bowel syndrome, sweeteners such

as sorbitol – a common addition to

gummies – can cause diarrhoea.

Studies have seen this effect in

quantities as little as just ten grams.

Curious as to what else is contained

inside these gummies? See our

panel, left.

In a statement, Starpowa said:

‘Our gummies are compliant with

European Food Safety Authority

regulations and do not contain

excessive quantities of vitamins.

‘We have focused on quality and

making our product as healthy as

possible, which is why we have

great results from real people.’

SOME PrODuCTS CONTAIN SO MuCH VITAMIN B, VITAl MEDICAl TESTS COulD BE Aff ECTED

CELEBRITY BACKERS: Kim

Kardashian, and sisters Kylie,

below left, and Khloe promote

vitamins on Instagram

AS A self-confessed sweets

addict, I wish all vitamins

came in gummy-bear form. And

what better than one that can

supposedly turn my split ends

into Kardashian-esque locks.

But after taking Hairburst

chews twice a day for a week,

my hair is just as dry and

brittle as it was before. In fact

if anything, it feels slightly

more unruly.

Too add insult to injury,

I was too tempted by the

moreish sweetness of the

vitamins to stop at two. So

I regularly overdosed, sending

my daily sugar intake higher

than it normally would be.

Worse still, I paid £20 for the

privilege. My advice? Save

your money for a trim and a

treatment instead.

By Eve

Simmons

Deputy

health eDI tor

HealtH comment

Pictures: INSTAGRAM / KIM KARDASHIAN /

KHLOE KARDASHIAN / KYLIE JENNER

affect medical test results. The

company said: ‘We firmly stand

by our supplements which adhere

to safety regulatory requirements.’

naturesbounty.co.uk

BEAuTY & ThE B EAR

£14.99 a month

WHAT’S IN THEM?

Three types of sugar, a

gelling agent and flavours.

Added vitamins include

A, C, D, E and biotin. It

also has choline and

inositol, or Vitamin B8,

which is used to combat

diabetes and depression.

ANGELA’S VERDICT

The website tells users to

expect their hair to grow

about an inch a month –

double the normal rate – but

there’s no science to verify

this. A daily dose of two

gummies contains 5,000

micrograms of biotin – the

equivalent of 500 egg yolks.

Excess biotin can interfere

with medical tests, such as

thyroid checks, so tell your

doctor if you are taking a

biotin supplement. The quantity

of vitamins is easily consumed in

the daily diet. The firm says the

level of Vitamin A in its gummies

is well below the recommended

upper limit of 10,000 micrograms.

beautyandthebear.com

hAIRBuRST

£19.99 a month

WHAT’S IN THEM? Three

types of sugar, gelatine,

sorbitol, palm oil, coconut

oil, flavours and colours,

four B vitamins and zinc.

ANGELA’S VERDICT:

Contains 100 per cent of

the daily recommendation

of B vitamins, but you

could easily get that from

two or three small glasses of

milk. Contains just under half the

NHS’s recommended maximum

intake of zinc. hairburst.com

l All nutrition refers to a

daily dose of two gummies.

V2