Vitamin B6
Pyridoxine
Vitamins. Modern nutrition.
Also called Pyridoxal phosphate, Pyridoxamine, Vitamin B-6
Pinyin: wéishēngsù B6
Spanish: Piridoxina
Nerve damage at high dosesA B vitamin the body needs to make proteins, red blood cells, and brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine.
Did you know? A rare inherited form of epilepsy in babies keeps causing seizures until they get vitamin B6, which stops them.
What it may help, and how strong the proof is
- Nausea & upset stomach. Several trials found that 10 to 25 mg of B6 a few times a day eases morning sickness in pregnancy. Doctors often use it as a first step. It does not stop severe vomiting, which needs medical care.Good proof
- Women's health. Some small trials found B6 eased premenstrual mood and bloating, but results are mixed. Most of these trials are small and short.Early proof
- Low mood. The body needs B6 to make mood chemicals, but trials of extra B6 for depression or anxiety are few and mixed. It is not a proven mood treatment for people who already get enough.Early proof
Parts of the body
Traditional use
Vitamin B6 has no herbal use. Traditional diets built on meat, fish, potatoes and whole grains supplied it, and scientists only identified it in the 1930s.
How it is classified
How people take it
Adults ages 19 to 50 need 1.3 mg a day (RDA). Men over 50 need 1.7 mg a day, and women over 50 need 1.5 mg a day. The upper limit is 100 mg a day from food and pills. Pregnancy nausea trials used about 10 to 25 mg a few times a day.
Food, tablet and capsule.
Where to get it
Good sources are chickpeas, tuna, salmon, chicken and turkey, beef liver, potatoes with skin, bananas, spinach, pistachios, sunflower seeds, and fortified cereals. Pills come as pyridoxine hydrochloride (most common) or as pyridoxal 5-phosphate, the active form.
Be careful
Pyridoxine is safe at food amounts and up to 100 mg a day from pills. Doses above that for months can damage nerves, causing numbness, tingling, clumsiness or trouble walking. Stop and see a doctor if these symptoms appear.
Avoid if: existing nerve damage; pregnancy at high doses.
Mixing with other things
- Works well together
Both support nerve function and are often taken together in B-complex blends.
- Works well together
Folate and B6 work together in steps that make new cells and blood.
- Works well together
B6, B12 and folate all help keep blood levels of homocysteine in check.
- Use cautionAlcohol (beer, wine, spirits)
Alcohol lowers B6 levels in the body.
The honest take
B6 is needed, and extra B6 helps some women with nausea of pregnancy. Its effects on mood and PMS are small and mixed, so it is not a proven treatment for them. Keep daily pills under 100 mg unless a doctor says otherwise.