Why Getting Enough Vitamin B6 Is Crucial & How to Get Enough of It
Vitamin B6, or pyridoxine, is one of the
essential vitamins all people need to stay alive and healthy. Moreover,
meeting one’s daily needs of this vitamin was suggested to prevent and
treat chronic diseases. The human body cannot produce this vitamin on
its own, so we must rely on foods like peanuts, spinach, and chicken to
meet our daily dose of pyridoxine.
It’s crucial to eat foods rich in this
vitamin on a daily basis because vitamin B6 is water-soluble, which
means that it’s flushed out of the body through urine and sweat every
day. In this post, we explain how vitamin B6 benefits your health, who
is at risk of developing a deficiency, and how to make sure that you’re
getting enough pyridoxine.
How vitamin B6 benefits the body
1. Essential for the brain and prevents dementia
Vitamin B6 is essential for the synthesis
of several neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, melatonin,
and noradrenaline. Without these chemicals, our brain cannot regulate
such important functions as sleep, mood, and our stress response.
But this isn't all. Early research suggests that Vitamin B6 could also
help prevent or slow down the development of Alzheimer’s disease. It
turns out that B6 can reduce the levels of homocysteine in the blood,
which is a blood marker that raises one’s risk of several health
conditions, including neurological issues like Alzheimer’s.
In adult patients with mild cognitive issues, for example, taking a B6,
B12, and B9 in high doses managed to reduce the decline in a number of
brain regions susceptible to Alzheimer’s. Therefore, maintaining
adequate levels of vitamin B6 and other B vitamins could prevent
cognitive decline.
2. Prevents anemia and keeps your immune system in check
Vitamin B6 plays a key role in the
production of blood cells. The vitamin is involved in the synthesis of
hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein present in the red blood cells.
When the levels of red blood cells or hemoglobin are low, a person
develops anemia.
Therefore, vitamin B6 can be effective at preventing and treating anemia
in patients with low levels of this vitamin. In one case study,
treatment with vitamin B6 helped a 72-year-old woman with anemia that
was linked to low pyridoxine levels recover from the condition. In
addition to red blood cells, vitamin B6 is involved in the functioning
of key immune cells called lymphocytes that help fight off infections.
According to a study from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
vitamin B6 can improve the immune response in critically ill patients
after just 14 days of supplementation.
3. Reduces the risk of heart disease
Remember the pesky homocysteine that shows
up in the blood and wreaks havoc in the brain? Unfortunately, the brain
is not the only organ it can damage. Homocysteine also increases one’s
risk of heart attacks, strokes, cardiovascular issues, and
atherosclerosis, so it’s important to make sure that one’s homocysteine
levels remain low. A combination of vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid can
achieve that goal.
Overall, research shows that people deficient in vitamin B6 are almost
twice as likely to suffer from heart disease as those with adequate
levels of the vitamin. This suggests that consuming enough Vitamin B6
can help prevent heart disease and protects you from cardiovascular
issues.
4. Helps reduce arthritis symptoms
Rheumatoid arthritis increases the levels
of inflammation in the body astronomically. According to medical
research, these high inflammation levels can reduce the concentration of
vitamin B6 in the body. This is why researchers have suggested that
increasing one’s intake of B6, be it through diet or supplementation,
could reduce the symptoms of the condition.
One medical article involving 43 adults with rheumatoid arthritis
provides some early evidence for this. In the study, patients either
took 5 mg of folic acid alone or combined the folic acid with 100 mg of
vitamin B6. After 3 months of daily supplementation, the levels of
inflammation in the group that took both folic acid and B6 were
significantly lower.
5. Protects you from depression and improves your mood
As we’ve already mentioned, vitamin B6 is
crucial for the production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and
serotonin. If you recognize these two, you’ll likely already know that
they are both often referred to as “the happiness hormones” because of
their role in reward regulation and mood control. Therefore, you must
keep your vitamin B6 levels in check to maintain your emotional health.
In addition to regulating your mood, however, these neurotransmitters
are also essential for preventing depression and other mental health
conditions. Likewise, several studies provide evidence that insufficient
intake and low blood levels of B6 can produce depressive symptoms,
especially in seniors. A study that involved 250 seniors suggests, for
example, that a B6 deficiency doubles the risk of developing depression.
Therefore, the vitamin may have a protective effect against depression.
6. Prevents vision loss
Interestingly, vitamin B6 can also help
prevent vision loss, especially in older adults. The vitamin in
combination with B12 and folic acid was shown to reduce the risk of
age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a big study spanning over 7
years. Taking this combination of vitamins reduced participant’s risk of
AMD by 35–40%.
Also, maintaining healthy levels of B6 can help protect you from retinal
disorders, according to another study. So, if you wish to protect your
eyesight, definitely consider paying close attention to your B6 intake.
7. Lowers the risk of cancer
Although researchers aren’t sure how
vitamin B6 can decrease the risk of cancer, studies show that an
adequate intake of vitamin B6 can lower one’s risk of colorectal cancer
by as much as 50%. The risk of developing breast cancer in those with
normal levels of the vitamin is also much lower, especially in
postmenopausal women.
In general, research confirms that B6 is beneficial for women - it’s
capable of reducing PMS symptoms and morning sickness in pregnant women,
too. Medical researchers suggest that these positive effects may be
related to B6’s anti-inflammatory properties.
How much vitamin B6 is enough?
Maintaining adequate vitamin B6 levels is important at any age, but the
amount of the vitamin you should consume will vary depending on your
gender and age. Here are the recommended daily doses for adults
according to the National Institute of Health:
Adults 50 or younger: 1.3 mg
Males over 50: 1.7 mg
Females over 50: 1.5 mg
Pregnant women: 1.9 mg
Breastfeeding women: 2 mg.
It needs to be pointed out that the majority of people get enough
vitamin B6 from their diet, but some people are more likely to develop a
B6 deficiency than others. Seniors, pregnant women, people with certain
underlying conditions, those who are overweight, as well as heavy
drinkers and smokers are more likely to develop a vitamin B6 deficiency.
Those who are deficient in vitamin B6 will
often experience the following symptoms:
Mood changes
Tingling in the hands and feet
You catch colds and respiratory infections more easily
Skin rashes
Sore and cracked corners of the lips
A glossy tongue
Seizures.
Your doctor will be able to diagnose a possible vitamin B6 deficiency
through a blood test and advise you on whether or not you need to take a
B supplement. But overall, a healthy diet is the best source of vitamin
B6.
Here’s a list of foods rich in vitamin B6.
Canned chickpeas - 1.1 mg in 1 cup
Peanuts - 0.7 mg in 1 cup
Salmon - 0.6 mg in 1 serving (85 mg; 3 oz)
Potatoes - 0.4 mg in 1 cup
Banana - 0.4 mg in 1 medium-sized fruit
Chicken - 0.2 mg in 1 serving (100 g; 3.5 oz)
Low-fat cottage cheese - 0.2 mg in 1 cup
Soybeans - 0.2 mg in 1 cup
Oatmeal - 0.1 mg in 1 cup
Spinach - 0.1 mg in 1 cup
Watermelon - 0.1 mg in 1 cup
Orange - 0.1 mg in 1 medium-sized fruit.
As you can see, a wide variety of both plant-based and animal-derived
foods contain plenty of vitamin B6. Some foods, such as breakfast
cereals, are also fortified with B6. We hope this information will help
you maintain a healthy diet.