Vitamin & Mineral Guide: Vitamin B-6

Needed in more than 100 chemical reactions in the body and for forming amino acids, red blood cells and antibodies; important for nerve and brain function, as well as energy production.

How Much: RDA = 1.3 mg for all adults up to age 50; age 50 and older, 1.7 mg for men, 1.5 mg for women. 

Too Much: UL = 100 mg.

Too Little: Rare; symptoms include skin inflammation, sore tongue, depression, confusion and convulsions. Suboptimal levels are linked o high levels of homocysteine, which can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. 

Foods: Beans, meat, poultry and fish.

Interactions:  Drugs for epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.

Research Note:  An Arthritis Foundation-funded study showed that low blood levels of vitamin B-6 decreased as the activity, severity and pain of RA increased.  Inflammation may decrease the level of vitamin B-6.  Another study indicates that vitamin B-6 deficiency in people with RA can be corrected with 50-mg supplements for 30 days, but they do not stop the production of inflammatory cytokines because people with RA may need more vitamin B-6 than do those in the general healthy population.