Vitamin B6 in Multivitamins

Vitamin B6 is included in multivitamins for its role in protein and glucose metabolism, hemoglobin formation, and more.

Vitamin B6 is a crucial player in over 100 essential chemical reactions in the body, and is best known for:

• Protein and glucose metabolism. B6 is needed to produce and utilize proteins and glycogen (stored form of energy).
  
• Helping form hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood.

Overview

First discovered in 1934, vitamin B6 has since been classified as one of the body’s essential nutrients. The vitamin takes on many different forms, among which pyridoxine is most commonly used for supplementation.

Vitamin B6 helps the body facilitate over 100 different reactions that are needed for:

• breaking down protein that we eat and using it for energy and other processes
• Producing neurotransmitters (More on B6 as a nootropic)
• Synthesis of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in red blood cells
• Regulation of homocysteine¹

Fortunately, large stores of vitamin B6 are found in a variety of foods, including meats, bananas, chickpeas, and potatoes, and the large majority of people meet the recommend dietary intakes for this essential nutrient.

Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Vitamin B6

Age	Males	Females
0 – 12 months	0.1 – 0.3 mg	0.1 – 0.3 mg
1 – 8 years	0.5 – 0.6 mg	0.5 – 0.6 mg
9 – 13 years	1 mg	1 mg
14 – 18 years	1.3 mg	1.2 mg (1.9 mg for pregnancy, 2 mg for breast-feeding)
19+	1.3 mg	mg (1.9 mg for pregnancy, 2 mg for breast-feeding)

Foods High in Vitamin B6

Food	Serving Size	Amount per serving (mg)
Wild tuna	3 ounces	0.87
Turkey	3 ounces	0.67
Chicken breast	3 ounces	0.46
Hazelnuts	½ cup	0.38
Sweet potato	½ cup	0.29
Spinach	½ cup	0.22

How Vitamin B6 Supports General Health

Catalyzing biochemical processes

In the form of aspyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP), vitamin B6 helps facilitate a number of important biological processes, including :²

• Breaking down protein. PLP is needed to break down dietary protein into amino acids, which then be used for energy, for producing glucose or fats, or for making other amino acids.
• Synthesizing neurotransmitters. PLP helps produce vital neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA).³
• Hemoglobin production. Hemoglobin is a core part of red blood cells, and PLP helps produce the component of red blood cells that holds iron, known as heme.⁴ Adequate amounts of hemoglobin are essential for healthy oxygen flow throughout the body. A low count of vitamin B6 impairs hemoglobin synthesis and likely results in the development of a blood disorder called anemia.⁵
• Glucose metabolism. Vitamin B6 not only promotes gluconeogenesis, the process of making glucose in the body, but also helps draw out glucose from the body’s glycogen stores.

Vitamin B6’s Benefits as a Multivitamin

Most people get plenty of vitamin B6 from their diets and deficiency is relatively rare. However, it is still added to multivitamins to make sure your levels meet the recommended daily intake.

In addition to its vital role in essential bodily processes, there is some research evidence that increased vitamin B6 intake is correlated with a reduced chance of developing coronary artery and heart conditions. As such, taking a multivimtain with B6 can also help protect you from these cardiovascular disorders. ^{6 7 8 9}

Multivitamin Dosage

• Multivitamins generally include 10 – 50 mg of vitamin B6