Guest guest Posted July 7, 2002 Report Share Posted July 7, 2002 Doc, Dr. Mercola (http://www.mercola.com/2002/jul/6/biotin.htm) just came out with a reference about raw eggs. In light of your recommendation to eat raw eggs, can you comment on this? -------------- By Hamid M. Said Biotin is an essential micronutrient for all mammals and is a member of the B complex group of vitamins. Biotin was discovered in nutritional experiments that revealed a factor in many foodstuffs that was capable of curing the scaly dermatitis, hair loss, and neurologic signs induced in rats fed dried egg whites. Avidin is a glycoprotein found in egg whites and binds biotin very specifically and tightly. From an evolutionary standpoint, avidin probably serves as a antibacterial in egg whites because it is resistant to a broad range of bacterial proteases in both the free and biotin-bound forms. Because it is resistant to digestive enzymes from the pancreas dietary avidin binds to dietary biotin and prevents its absorption. The normal bacteria of the large intestine synthesize biotin. Cooking changes avidin and makes it susceptible to digestion and unable to interfere with the intestinal absorption of biotin. The fact that we have a requirement for biotin has been most clearly shown in 2 situations that result in biotin deficiency: 1) Prolonged consumption of raw egg whites and 2) IV nutrition without biotin supplementation in patients with short- gut syndrome Interestingly, the biotin requirements for normal persons and for persons in special clinical circumstances are not known. Safe and adequate doses have been suggested. American Journal Clinical Nutrition February 2002;75(2):179-80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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