Vitamin B6

Overview:

Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, is a water-soluble vitamin that your body needs for several functions. It has health benefits for the body, including promoting brain health and improving mood.

It’s significant to protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism and the creation of red blood cells and neurotransmitters.
Your body cannot produce vitamin B6, so you must obtain it from foods or supplements.

Most people get enough vitamin B6 through their diet, but certain populations may be at risk for deficiency. Consuming adequate amounts of vitamin B6 is important for optimal health and may even prevent and treat chronic diseases

Overview of Benefits:

Vitamin B6 has been found to be helpful with numerous health conditions and the prevention of such. While evidence is not fully conclusive of any particular one, studies show promising results that would lead one to conclude the research and testing supports the theory.

Health Benefits of Vitamin B6

Mood Improvement and Depression

Vitamin B6 is necessary for creating neurotransmitters that regulate emotions, including serotonin, dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

Vitamin B6 may also play a role in decreasing high blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which have been linked to depression and other psychiatric issues.

Several studies have shown that depressive symptoms are associated with low blood levels and intakes of vitamin B6, especially in older adults who are at high risk for B vitamin deficiency. One study in 250 older adults found that deficient blood levels of vitamin B6 doubled the likelihood of depression

Managing PMS Symptoms

Vitamin B6 has been used to treat symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, including anxiety, depression and irritability. Researchers suspect that B6 helps with emotional symptoms related to PMS due to its role in creating neurotransmitters that regulate mood.

A three-month study in over 60 premenopausal women found that taking 50 mg of vitamin B6 daily improved PMS symptoms of depression, irritability and tiredness by 69%. However, women who received a placebo also reported improved PMS symptoms, which suggests that the effectiveness of the vitamin B6 supplement may have been due in part to a placebo effect.

Another small study found that 50 mg of vitamin B6 along with 200 mg of magnesium per day significantly reduced PMS symptoms, including mood swings, irritability and anxiety, over the course of one menstrual cycle

Morning Sickness From Pregnancy

Vitamin B6 has been used for decades to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. In fact, it’s an ingredient in Diclegis, a medication commonly used to treat morning sickness. Researchers are not entirely sure why vitamin B6 helps with morning sickness, but it may be because adequate B6 plays several vital roles in ensuring a healthy pregnancy.

A study in 342 women in their first 17 weeks of pregnancy found that a daily supplement of 30 mg of vitamin B6 significantly reduced feelings of nausea after five days of treatment, compared to a placebo.

Another study compared the impact of ginger and vitamin B6 on reducing episodes of nausea and vomiting in 126 pregnant women. The results showed that taking 75 mg of B6 each day decreased nausea and vomiting symptoms by 31% after four days

Heart Health

Research shows that people with low blood levels of vitamin B6 have almost double the risk of getting heart disease compared to those with higher B6 levels.
This is likely due to the role of B6 in decreasing elevated homocysteine levels associated with several disease processes, including heart disease.

One study found that rats deficient in vitamin B6 had higher blood levels of cholesterol and developed lesions that could cause artery blockages after being exposed to homocysteine, compared to rats with adequate B6 levels.

Human research also shows a beneficial effect of B6 in preventing heart disease.
A randomized controlled trial in 158 healthy adults who had siblings with heart disease divided participants into two groups, one that received 250 mg of vitamin B6 and 5 mg of folic acid every day for two years and another that received a placebo. The group that took B6 and folic acid had lower homocysteine levels and less abnormal heart tests during exercise than the placebo group, putting them at an overall lower risk of heart disease

Vision and Eye Health

Vitamin B6 may play a role in preventing eye diseases, especially a type of vision loss that affects older adults called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Studies have linked high blood levels of circulating homocysteine with an increased risk of AMD. Since vitamin B6 helps reduce elevated blood levels of homocysteine, getting enough B6 may lower your risk of this disease.

A seven-year study in over 5,400 female health professionals found that taking a daily supplement of vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid (B9) significantly reduced AMD risk by 35–40%, compared to a placebo.

While these results suggest that B6 may play a role in preventing AMD, it’s difficult to tell if B6 alone would offer the same benefits.

Research has also linked low blood levels of vitamin B6 to eye conditions that block veins that connect to the retina. A controlled study in over 500 people found that the lowest blood levels of B6 were significantly associated with retinal disorders

May Help Rheumatoid Arthritis Inflammation

Vitamin B6 may help reduce symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis. The high levels of inflammation in the body that result from rheumatoid arthritis may lead to low levels of vitamin B6. However, it’s unclear if supplementing with B6 decreases inflammation in people with this condition.

A 30-day study in 36 adults with rheumatoid arthritis found that 50 mg of vitamin B6 daily corrected low blood levels of B6 but did not decrease the production of inflammatory molecules in the body.

On the other hand, a study in 43 adults with rheumatoid arthritis that took 5 mg of folic acid alone or 100 mg of vitamin B6 with 5 mg of folic acid daily showed that those who received B6 had significantly lower levels of pro-inflammatory molecules after 12 weeks

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Overview:

Overview of Benefits:

Health Benefits of Vitamin B6