Tips for Hair Supplements - Drink Water. 

If you're taking hair growth supplements they more than likely contain high amounts of the essential B-Vitamin biotin. While water soluble vitamins are safe in higher doses, some people experience acne if they don't consume enough water while taking them. We all know the age old "8 glasses of water a day" recommendation, but doctors now recommend half your body weight in ounces. One glass is 8 oz or 240 ml. 

If you weigh 150 lbs , divide that by 2 , that gives you 75. 75 ounces (divided by 8 ounces in glass) is 9.5 glasses of water daily. These are merely recommendations. ALWAYS listen to your body. 

Personally, I like to know my water intake in mL and ounces so I can track appropriately throughout the day. I prefer to take 500 ml and 1,000 ml bottles to work with me and pace myself through out my 12 hours shifts. If I have a commute to work than I'll drink, say - 500 cc on the way to work, and my 1L bottle at work through the night. 

Increasing you water intake suddenly will mean LOTS of trips to the bathroom but your body will adjust over time. 

Should you count caffeine and other liquids? YES. In nursing school I was taught that we don't count tea and coffee towards intake and output the same as water because of their diuretic nature. But research shows that the body adjust to regular consumption of caffeine and it no longer acts as a diuretic. So, again, listen to your body. Soup, smoothies and fruit are also water-rich foods. The sugar added in coffee however negates many of its benefits. Sugar can be a step backwards if you're trying to avoid acne. 

What are some natural sources of biotin? Organ meats such as beef liver, egg YOLKS, legumes, mushrooms, sweet potatoes. 

Some added perks are that biotin has been shown to help lower blood sugar and decrease inflammation, but let me tell you about the benefits of drinking water...

1. Increased energy

2. Improved cognitive function

3. Decreased headaches/migraines

4. Increased metabolism 

TIP: If you can't "stomach" water, I assure you your body will adjust and thank you for it. But, in the meantime, a helpful hack passed on to me is people using spicy foods to trick themselves into drinking water until they got the hang of putting down the sugary carbonated crack. Your wellness journey will take time. Always remember, Timbuktu wasn't built in a day. 

I've witnessed the miraculous recoveries by way of hydration while working for a private infusion company on the East coast. My clients went from misery donned and couch bound  to getting dressed for work in under an hour. One of the primary focuses in the hospital setting is fluid intake, even if that means an automated pump and your nurses never-ending intrusive quest to find out "how much pee you made" *shrugs* sorry. In military training we had to carry canteens, and our instructors would YELL at us "PULL EM' EM OUT AND HYDRATE", every time we halted marching. See, uncle Sam knows all the preventable ailments and sick-calls resulting from improper fluid status, and he says  Not on his dime. *LOL*

Need I say more? Are you dehydrated? Maybe you're not hallucinating mirages in the desert , but increased energy and cognitive functioning never hurt anyone, so pull em' out and HYDRATE.  

NOTE: High amounts of biotin can create false positives in laboratory tests for thyroid disease. If you hav a history of thyroid disease please consult with your healthcare provider before taking biotin or any other health supplement.