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Deficiency Diseases and Good Nutrition
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
C8H11O3N
Vitamin B6 controls sodium/potassium levels. This is vitally important to every cell in your body. Every cell has what is called a sodium/potassium pump, which makes it possible to push the waste products out of the cell and pull the nutrients into the cell. Your body keeps these two nutrients in perfect balance, and B6 is one of the helpers.

B6 also aids in the production of niacin from tryptophan. Therefore, when you don't have enough B6, you probably won't have enough niacin. B6 and niacin together can help hyperactive kids. It's something you might want to ask your doctor about before putting your children on prozac.

Your brain and spinal cord are constantly being nourished by B6. This would also indicate its importance to a developing baby's nervous system. B6 is moved across the placenta in large quantities to aid in the advancing nervous system. DNA is replicated and red blood cells are produced with the help of B6.

B6 is an important component of PLP (pyridoxal phosphate) and PMP (pyridoxamine phosphate). These two coenzymes are mostly used in transamination. All proteins in your body, including DNA, hormones, muscles, ect., are made up of the building blocks found in amino acids. These amino acids have to be moved around to create the substances your body needs. These reactions are transamination reactions, which could not happen without PMP or PLP.

Because B6 is so closely related to protein, the amount you need directly relates to how much protein you eat. You should eat 0.016 mg of B6 for every gram of protein. There is an established RDA for B6, but it correlates with double the RDA for protein, so keep that in mind. The average woman needs 1.6 mg, and the average man needs 2.0 mg of pyridoxine. If you take oral contraceptives, you'll need more B6. If you eat a lot of fat or protein, you'll also need more B6 to metabolize them properly.



Foods High in Vitamin B6

Liver, beef, 3 oz.            1.22 mg
Oatmeal, 3/4 cup              0.74 mg
Banana, 1                     0.66 mg
Chicken, light meat, 3 oz.    0.51 mg
Potatoes, mashed, 1 cup       0.49 mg
Sunflower seeds, kernels,     0.45 mg
Brewer's yeast, 1 Tbls.       0.40 mg
Halibut, baked, 3.5 oz.       0.34 mg
Pork chop, baked, 3 oz.       0.30 mg
Rice, brown, cooked, 1 cup    0.28 mg
Beef, hamburger, 3 oz.        0.23 mg

There are extremely few cases where people have gotten a toxicity of B6. The ones that have been observed, though, suffer from ataxia (lose control of muscles) and severe sensory neuropathy (your sensory nerves don't work right). When you don't get enough B6, your brain and spinal cord cannot work correctly. Some mentally retarded children have B6 deficiency, and there could be a correlation. If you don't have enough B6, and you are pregnant, you can experience extreme nausea, vomiting, cramps, and pain in the limbs.

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Revised: 14 Sep 99