Preventive Roles and Therapeutic Uses
Vitamin B6 has been used to treat nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy for decades, commonly in conjunction with other medications such as metoclopramide or doxylamine. Alone, it has been found safe and effective, though any woman's prenatal caregiver must help guide treatment for these symptoms.
At least one preliminary study has found this vitamin may increase dream vividness or the ability to recall dreams. This effect is possibly due to the role this vitamin plays in the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin. Anecdotal evidence suggests supplemental vitamin B6 may be associated with lucid dreaming.
The intake of vitamin B6, from either diet or supplements, could cut the risk of Parkinson's disease by half according to a prospective study from the Netherlands. "Stratified analyses showed that this association was restricted to smokers," wrote the authors.
Pyridoxine has a role in preventing heart disease. Without enough pyridoxine, the compound homocysteine builds up in the body. Homocysteine damages blood vessel linings, setting the stage for plaque buildup when the body tries to heal the damage. Vitamin B6 prevents this buildup, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack. Pyridoxine lowers blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels and keeps blood platelets from sticking together. All of these properties work to keep heart disease at bay.
Nutritional supplementation with high dose vitamin B6 and magnesium is one of the most popular alternative medicine choices for autism, but randomised control trials have had mixed results and small sample sizes mean no conclusions can be drawn as to the efficacy of this treatment.
Some studies suggest the vitamin B6-magnesium combination can also help attention deficit disorder, citing improvements in hyperactivity, hyperemotivity/aggressiveness and improved school attention.
A lack of the vitamin may play a role in sensitivity to monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer. This sensitivity can cause headaches, pain and tingling of the upper extremities, nausea, and vomiting. In both of these syndromes, supplementation of pyridoxine alleviates symptoms only in people already deficient in the vitamin.
If people are marginally deficient in vitamin B6, they may be more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). CTS is characterized by pain and tingling in the wrists after performing repetitive movements or otherwise straining the wrist on a regular basis. Vitamin B6 has been shown in at least two small-scale clinical studies to have a beneficial effect on the syndrome, particularly in cases where no trauma or overuse etiology is known.
Vitamin B6 has long been publicized as a cure for premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Study results conflict as to which symptoms are eased, but most confirm women who take B6 supplements have reductions in bloating, breast pain, and premenstrual acne flare, a condition in which pimples break out about a week before a woman's period begins. Strong evidence suggests pyridoxine supplementation, starting 10 days before the menstrual period, prevents most pimples from forming. This effect is due to the vitamin's role in hormone and prostaglandin regulation. Skin blemishes are typically caused by a hormone imbalance, which vitamin B6 helps to regulate.
Mental depression is another condition which may result from low vitamin B6 intake. Because of pyridoxine's role in serotonin and other neurotransmitter production, supplementation often helps depressed people feel better, and their moods improve significantly. It may also help improve memory in older adults. However, the effectiveness as treatment for PMS, PMDD, and clinical depression is debatable.
Ingestion of vitamin B6 possibly can alleviate some of the many symptoms of an alcoholic hangover and morning sickness from pregnancy. This might be due to its mild diuretic effect. Though the mechanism is not known, results show pyridoxamine has therapeutic effects in clinical trials for diabetic nephropathy.
Larsson et al. have shown vitamin B6 intake and pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) levels are inversely related to the risk of colon cancer. While in their study the correlation with B6 intake was moderate, it was quite dramatic with PLP levels, where the risk of colon cancer was nearly decreased by half.
Vitamin B6 is also known to increase the metabolism of Parkinson's medications, such as levodopa, and should be used cautiously.
Read more about this topic: Vitamin B6
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