Vitamin B6 benefits and dosage
Everything you need to know about the benefits of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and whether you need a supplement.
Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, is one of eight vitamins that make up the B complex. It plays an important role in your metabolism and the release of energy from your food. It also affects everything from your cardiovascular system to immunity to cognitive development. However, we can’t produce it ourselves, so need to find external sources.
In this breakdown, we’ll go through the basics of what vitamin B6 benefits are, the symptoms of low levels, and how to make sure you get enough vitamin B6 in your diet.
What is vitamin B6 good for?
Vitamin B6 is one of the essential nutrients that we all need and is vital to all sorts of processes in both the body and brain.
It comes from various forms of the chemical pyridoxine and is essential for more than 100 different enzyme reactions in the metabolism and the healthy functioning of red blood cells.
So, what are the benefits of vitamin B6?
Vitamin B6 Benefits
Synthesising neurotransmitters
Aiding mood regulation
Regulating energy release from food
Contributing to haemoglobin production
On top of that, a clinical trial found that high levels helped slow the shrinking of the brain in areas associated with cognitive decline.
Does vitamin B6 give you energy?
Like many other B vitamins, B6 is important in the processes that allow us to use and store energy from our food. Because of this, vitamin B6 health benefits are most noticeable when taken in a supplement with other B vitamins. This will ensure optimum energy release.
On top of that, iron and B6 are both needed to form haemoglobin, while magnesium and vitamin B6 work together to increase absorption (although magnesium does often inhibit the absorption of other nutrients).
What are the symptoms of low vitamin B6?
Low levels of Vitamin B6 are considered rare, particularly in isolation from other B vitamins, although additional factors like malabsorption syndromes can play a role.
Foods that contain vitamin B6
It’s possible to get a lot of the vitamin B6 we need from our diet. While vitamin B6 is found in the largest quantities in animal products, there are plant-based foods that contain it too. Some of the best dietary sources are:
pork
poultry
some fish
peanuts
oats
bananas
If you're finding it hard to get enough B6 in your diet alone or would like to boost the vitamin B6 benefits, you might wish to try a supplement. A B6 supplement benefits you as it ensures you're getting a high enough dosage to feel the effects and can be taken as part of the whole vitamin B complex.
Vitamin B6 dosage
The nutrient reference value (NRV) for vitamin B6 varies in the UK according to age and gender. However, in the EU, the NRV is 1.4mg a day.
Are there any side effects of vitamin B6?
As a water-soluble nutrient, vitamin B6 toxicity isn’t generally considered a problem, and there aren’t any known side effects to taking a vitamin B6 supplement, unless you’re taking enormous doses.