The Benefits of Vitamin B6

Readily available in food as well as dietary supplements, vitamin B6 is important for a number of bodily functions. Discover the many vitamin B6 benefits.

A. The family of B vitamins, which are also known as B complex vitamins, plays an important role in converting food into energy and helping the body metabolize fats and proteins. The B vitamins are also important for healthy hair, skin, liver, and eyes. Vitamin B6, or pyridoxine, is one in this group of eight vitamins.

Q. What does vitamin B6 do?

A. “Vitamin B6 helps a lot of the systems in your body function,” says Dee Sandquist, MS, RD, CD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “It is important for cardiovascular, digestive, immune, muscular, and nervous system function. It is one of the vitamins that are behind the scenes.” The B6 vitamin is needed for proper brain development and function and to make the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which affect mood. Vitamin B6 also helps the body make melatonin, which is important in helping regulate your internal clock.

Q. How much vitamin B6 do I need?

means that they dissolve in the body’s fluids, and any unneeded amounts are excreted in the urine — the body is not able to store any leftover B vitamin for future needs. You need sources of vitamin B6 as well as the other B vitamins every day. The exact amount of B6 vitamin you need depends on your age, gender, and any special circumstances, such as whether you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Here is an overview of how much B6 vitamin people need at different stages of life:

Children

• Newborn to 6 months: 0.1 milligram (mg) per day Infants 7 months to 1 year: 0.3 mg
• Children 1 to 3 years: 0.5 mg
• Children 4 to 8 years: 0.6 mg
• Children 9 to 13 years: 1 mg
• Boys 14 to 18 years: 1.3 mg
• Girls 14 to 18 years: 1.2 mg

Adults

• Men and women 19 to 50 years: 1.3 mg
• Men 51 years and older: 1.7 mg
• Women 51 years and older: 1.5 mg
• Pregnant women: 1.9 mg
• Breastfeeding women: 2.0 mg

Most people who eat a well-balanced, varied diet will get the required amount of vitamin B6 without having to take dietary supplements. “The recommended amount for an average adult under age 50 is 1.3 milligrams — you can easily get that from food,” says Sandquist.

For older adults, however, getting enough vitamin B6 may be a problem. After age 50, the recommended amount of vitamin B6 is 1.7 mg for men and 1.5 mg for women. “This can be a challenge for older Americans who may be living alone and cooking less,” says Sandquist. Older people should ask about having their vitamin B6 levels tested by their doctor, she suggests.

Some people may actually be getting too much vitamin B6, says Sandquist. This can happen if, for example, you consume too many energy drinks, which have B vitamins. “These vitamins are soluble, which means they’re harder on the kidneys and it’s harder for the body to get rid of the excess,” Sandquist says.

Q. What are some good sources of vitamin B6?

A. Excellent sources of vitamin B6 include beef, poultry, fish, and eggs. Other foods that are high in B6 vitamin are whole grains, fortified cereals, nuts, beans, bananas, and potatoes.

Vitamin B6 is usually included in multivitamins and sold as an individual supplement; it may be listed as pyridoxal, pyridoxamine, pyridoxine hydrochloride, or pyridoxal-5-phosphate.

Always talk to your doctor before taking any vitamin B6 dietary supplements. High amounts of vitamin B6 — guidelines say to limit it to 100 mg a day — may increase the risk of health problems such as nausea, abdominal pain, and even neurological disorders. Whenever possible, getting your vitamin B6 through food is the better alternative. “The truth is that food contains so many different nutrients that work together to create a synergy,” says Sandquist. “Plus, with food you are more satisfied.”

Q. What have recent research studies found about the effects of vitamin B6?

A. Preliminary research has shown that vitamin B6 benefits may include positive effects on neurological conditions such as seizures, chronic pain, depression, and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers think that this may have something to do with the fact that vitamin B6 plays an important role in the production of serotonin and dopamine, which are necessary for nerve communication.

There is also some evidence that people who do not get enough vitamin B6 may have an increased risk of heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis. In a recent large-scale study in Japan, researchers found that high consumption of dietary vitamin B6 andvitamin B12 were associated with reduced risk of death from stroke, coronary heart disease, and heart failure.

However, other studies have questioned some vitamin B6 benefits. In a recent Duke University Medical Center review of studies on nutritional supplements, researchers found that vitamin B6 may play a role in reducing the risk of macular degeneration (a cause of blindness) and stroke. On the other hand, they found little evidence that vitamin B6 delays cardiovascular disease or cognitive changes related to aging.