HMN 2025: What to know about vitamin B6 dietary supplements

In current weeks, reports have been circulating about extreme reactions in individuals who’ve taken over-the-counter vitamin B6 dietary supplements.

Vitamin B6 poisoning can injure nerves and result in signs together with numbness, tingling and even hassle strolling and transferring.

In some circumstances, these affected didn’t know the product contained any vitamin B6.

So what’s vitamin B6, the place is it discovered and the way a lot is an excessive amount of? Here’s what that you must learn about this important nutrient.

What is vitamin B6?

Vitamin B6 (also referred to as pyridoxine) is a gaggle of six compounds that share an identical chemical construction.

It is an important nutrient, which means we’d like it for regular physique capabilities, however we will not produce it ourselves.

Adults aged 19–50 want 1.3mg of vitamin B6 per day. The really useful dose is decrease for teenagers and kids, and better for these aged 51 and over (1.7mg for males and 1.5mg for ladies) and people who find themselves breastfeeding or pregnant (1.9mg).

Most of us get this in our diet—largely from animal merchandise, together with meat, dairy and eggs.

The vitamin can also be obtainable in a variety of various plant meals, together with spinach, kale, bananas and potatoes, so deficiency is rare, even for vegetarians and vegans.

The vitamin B6 we devour within the food regimen is inactive, which means the physique cannot use it. To activate B6, the liver transforms it right into a compound referred to as pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (PLP).

In this kind, vitamin B6 helps the physique with greater than 140 mobile capabilities, together with constructing and breaking down proteins, producing crimson blood cells, regulating blood sugar and supporting mind operate.

Vitamin B6 is necessary for overall health and has additionally been related to lowered cancer danger and inflammation.

Despite being available within the food regimen, vitamin B6 can also be extensively included in varied dietary supplements, multivitamins and different merchandise, similar to Berocca and power drinks.

Should we be nervous about toxicity?

Vitamin B6 toxicity is extraordinarily uncommon. It almost never occurs from dietary intake alone, until there’s a genetic dysfunction or illness that stops nutrient absorption (similar to celiac illness).

This is as a result of all eight nutritional vitamins within the B group are water-soluble. If you devour extra of the vitamin than your physique wants, it may be excreted readily and harmlessly in your urine.

However, in some uncommon circumstances, excessive vitamin B6 accumulates within the blood, leading to a situation referred to as peripheral neuropathy. We’re nonetheless unsure why this happens in some individuals however not others.

Peripheral neuropathy occurs when the sensory nerves—these exterior our mind and spinal twine that ship data to the central nervous system—are broken and unable to operate. This might be attributable to a variety of ailments (and is most well-known in sort 2 diabetes).

The commonest signs are numbness and tingling, although in some circumstances sufferers could expertise issue with steadiness or strolling.

We do not know precisely how extra vitamin B6 causes peripheral neuropathy, however it’s thought to interfere with how the neurotransmitter GABA sends alerts to the sensory nerves.

Vitamin B6 could cause everlasting harm to nerves. Studies have shown signs improved when the particular person stopped taking the complement, though they did not utterly resolve.

What is taken into account extreme? And has this modified?

Toxicity usually occurs solely when individuals take dietary supplements with excessive doses of B6.

Until 2022, solely merchandise with greater than 50mg of vitamin B6 have been required to show a warning about peripheral neuropathy. But the Therapeutic Goods Administration lowered this and now requires any product containing greater than 10mg of vitamin B6 to hold a warning.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has additionally halved the every day higher restrict of vitamin B6 a product can present—from 200mg to 100mg.

These adjustments adopted a assessment by the administration, after receiving 32 stories of peripheral neuropathy in individuals taking dietary supplements. Two thirds of those individuals have been taking lower than 50mg of vitamin B6.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration acknowledges the chance varies between people and quite a bit is unknown. Its assessment couldn’t establish a minimal dose, length of use or affected person danger elements.

But I believed B nutritional vitamins have been good for me?

Too a lot of something could cause issues.

The up to date tips are prone to considerably decrease the chance of toxicity. They additionally make customers extra conscious of which merchandise comprise B6, and the dangers.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration will proceed to observe proof and revise tips if crucial.

While vitamin B6 toxicity stays very uncommon, there are nonetheless many questions on why some individuals get peripheral neuropathy with decrease dose dietary supplements.

It may very well be that some particular vitamin B compounds have a stronger impact, or some individuals could have genetic vulnerabilities or ailments which put them at higher risk.

So what ought to I do?

Most individuals need not actively search vitamin B6 in dietary supplements.

However, many stories to the Therapeutic Goods Administration have been of vitamin B6 being added to dietary supplements labeled as magnesium or zinc—and a few weren’t conscious they have been consuming it.

It is necessary to all the time test the label if you’re taking a brand new drugs or complement, particularly if it hasn’t been explicitly prescribed by a health-care skilled.

Be notably cautious if you’re taking a number of dietary supplements. While one multivitamin is unlikely to trigger a problem, including a magnesium complement for cramping, or a zinc complement for chilly and flu signs, could trigger an extreme vitamin B6 dose over time, and improve your danger.

Importantly, take note of signs that will point out peripheral neuropathy, similar to pins and needles, numbness, or ache within the ft or palms, should you do change or add a complement.

Most importantly, should you want recommendation, you need to speak to your physician, dietitian or pharmacist.

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