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Vitamin
B6, Part of the B Complex Family: You Need It
by
Don V. Richards
Vitamin
B6, also known in its biologically active form as pyridoxal phospate
(and also in the form of pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, pyridoxal, and
several other variants) is naturally-occurring nutrient that is
absolutely essential to human health. It's a water-soluble vitamin which means that it can't be stored in the fat tissues of the
human body, and any excess beyond what the body can use right now is
just flushed away in the urine. Furthermore, the body can't
manufacture its own supply. Since we need Vitamin B6 to stay alive,
that means that we need an external source of this nutrient,
and we must consume B6 regularly and repeatedly.
Vitamin
B6 is one of the eight "B complex" vitamins and, like all of
them, it helps the body convert our food fats, proteins, and
carbohydrates into the glucose which every cell in our body
constantly needs as fuel. Also, without Vitamin B6, we would be
unable to maintain proper, healthy functioning of our liver, our
skin, our hair, and our eyes among other things. The nervous
system also needs Vitamin B6 for the production of certain substances
called neurotransmitters,
which are essential for our nerve cells to communicate with each
other which is what enables all our senses, our control over our
muscles and other organs (both conscious and unconscious), and our
very minds themselves.
Vitamin
B6 is essential not only for healthy human brain function, but for
proper brain development
in children, too. B6 is also needed in order for the body to produce
the hormones norepinephrine
and serotonin, which
regulate our moods, and melatonin,
the "sleep hormone," which helps us maintain a normal, restful
sleep cycle.
In
combination with other members of the B complex family (specifically,
Vitamins B12 and B9), Vitamin B6 helps the body reduce levels of an
amino acid called homocysteine in our blood. High levels of
homocysteine in the bloodstream are linked to heart disease. Studies
have shown that people who don't get enough Vitamin B6 are more
likely to suffer from diseases of the heart.
Vitamin
B6 is also good for our circulatory system in that it is needed for
the production of both our regular red blood cells and the white
blood cells of our (extremely important) immune system. And, in one
of many examples of synergy between members of the B complex family
of vitamins, our bodies cannot absorb Vitamin B12 (which boosts blood
health and prevents anemia) without an adequate intake of Vitamin B6.
Scientists
are currently studying whether or not Vitamin B6 can fight "morning
sickness" (nausea and vomiting) among pregnant women. Several
studies including one that was a double-blind test of the
nutrient against a placebo control group indicate that it can.
But a few studies failed to reproduce these results, so research is
ongoing.
Another
possible Vitamin B6 benefit currently under review by science is its
value in combating
depression. Patients suffering from depression often have low levels
of the hormone serotonin, and several anti-depressant drugs function
by raising serotonin levels in the bloodstream. Vitamin B6 helps the
body produce serotonin, so trials are underway to see if B6
supplementation can ameliorate the symptoms of this terrible malady.
One
of the symptoms of the painful disease arthritis, which particularly
affects older people, is inflammation of the joints. This
inflammation is known to reduce the level of Vitamin B6 in the body,
so it is thought that arthritis sufferers require more of this
nutrient than other people, and supplementation may be in order.
One
recent study indicated that direct injection of Vitamin B6 was
helpful to women experiencing hair loss. According to a Polish
medical study published on the National Institutes of Health Web
site, Vitamin B6 injections generally improved the quality of the
women's hair and reduced hair loss.
Vitamin
B6 deficiency is rare, but it does happen among people who have
extraordinarily poor diets and the processed food industry
enables us all to eat poorly if we don't watch ourselves! That
said, though, it should be easily possible to get all the Vitamin B6
you need for normal bodily health and functioning from the foods you
eat as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Some of the foods rich in
Vitamin B6 are brown rice; bran; sunflower seeds; wheat germ;
whole-grain flour; meat, including salmon, shrimp, and beef liver;
milk; cheese; beans; spinach; carrots; and lentils. Symptoms of
Vitamin B6 deficiency include sores on the tongue and in the mouth,
short-term memory loss,
confusion, difficulty in concentrating, muscle weakness, nervousness,
irritability, and depression.
If
you think you can benefit from Vitamin B6 supplements, be aware of
the guidelines for daily intake to maintain health and, if you do
take in excess of these amounts, make sure you discuss it with your
doctor or trusted health adviser beforehand. For adults, the
recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin B6 varies from 1.3 to 2
mg. If you have a special need that requires supplementation at a
higher level, don't ever exceed 100 mg daily: Very large doses of
this nutrient have been known to cause nerve damage. Some symptoms
that might indicate you're consuming too much B6 are numbness in
the legs, loss of balance, allergic reactions of the skin, nausea,
abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and sensitivity to sunlight. When
the excess intake of Vitamin B6 is terminated, all symptoms usually
disappear in less than six months.
When
supplementing with Vitamin B6, it may be wise to take the vitamin as
part of a B complex supplement instead of just B6 on its own. This is
because the B vitamins often work in tandem with one another, and
allowing a large imbalance between them inhibits the synergy they
normally exhibit together, in which the total health effect is
greater than the sum of the individual parts.
Whatever
your age, health, or condition in life, the 21st century is the age
of more widespread health knowledge and information than we've ever
known before. Take advantage of this information and take charge
of your diet your exercise the supplements
you take and start living like you've never lived before!
REFERENCES
Erlich,
Steven D., "Vitamin B6," University of Maryland Medical Center,
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/vitamin-b6-pyridoxine
, accessed 17 June 2014
Schnyder,
G., Roffi, M., Flammer, Y., Pin, R., Hess, O.M., "Effect of
homocysteine-lowering therapy with folic acid, vitamin B12, and
vitamin B6 on clinical outcome after percutaneous coronary
intervention: the Swiss Heart study: a randomized controlled trial,"
Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002 Aug 28;
288(8): 973-9
Woolf
K., Manore M.M., "Elevated plasma homocysteine and low vitamin B-6
status in nonsupplementing older women with rheumatoid arthritis,"
Journal of the American Diet Assoc., 2008;108(3):443-53
Alpert,
J.E., Mischoulon, D., Nierenberg, A.A., Fava, M.. "Nutrition and
depression: focus on folate," Nutrition, 2000;16:544-581
Booth,
G.L., Wang, E.E., "Preventive health care, 2000 update: screening
and management of hyperhomocysteinemia for the prevention of coronary
artery disease events," The Canadian Task Force on Preventive
Health Care, CMAJ, 2000;163(1):21-29
Jewell,
D., Young, G., "Interventions for nausea and vomiting in early
pregnancy," (Cochrane Review), Cochrane Database System Review,
2002;(1):CD000145
Wong,
Kathy, ND, About.com Alternative Medicine: Supplements; Vitamin B5,
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/herbsupplementguide/a/Vitamin-B6.htm
, accessed 17 June, 2014
Uzoma,
Kay, Live Strong, "What Are the Benefits of Vitamin B6 for Women?",
http://www.livestrong.com/article/247054-what-are-the-benefits-of-vitamin-b6-for-women/
, accessed 17 June 2014
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