Vitamin B6, the PMS vitamin

(NaturalNews) Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxa, pyridoxamine) works with other B vitamins to change carbohydrates into glucose, to help form hemoglobin, to create neurotransmitters, to maintain normal nerve function, to break down proteins, to maintain normal blood sugar levels, and to make antibodies.

B6 is not stored in the body. Therefore, it is ideal to eat a healthy diet that supplies the daily need for this essential nutrient.

Foods rich in vitamin B6

Natural food sources high in vitamin B6 include the following: sweet potatoes, potatoes, spinach, cabbage, turnip greens, garlic, winter squash, bok choy, bell peppers, avocado, green peas, tuna, chicken, turkey, beef, salmon, lentils, lima beans, pinto beans, banana, and sunflower seeds.

Vitamin B6 deficiency

Deficiency causes depression and cognitive problems, skin inflammation, burning feet, sore tongue, anemia, and chronic inflammation of the body. Severe deficiency can lead to convulsions. B6 is important for liver detoxification and immune system function. Severe deficiencies are rare; however, mild deficiencies are common.

How Vitamin B6 is used therapeutically

B6 has been proven to be a successful treatment for morning sickness during pregnancy, to lower homocysteine levels, and to treat tardive dyskinesia. The best known use of B6 is to treat PMS; however, double blind studies have not confirmed its efficacy. (But try telling this to any woman who has received immediate relief from raging hormones by taking B6, and any man who knows to give them to her.) Studies have proven its aid in treating children with asthma with resultant reduction of medications, but studies of adults with asthma have not shown the same result.

Evidence is incomplete or contradictory in regards to benefits in treating depression, vertigo, dermatitis, schizophrenia, prevention of kidney stones, HIV, photosensitivity, and diabetes during pregnancy.

In reading the literature, it appears that many studies have been conducted with small groups and many of the studies have not been set up properly. It is also suspect that none of the studies have been conducted with B-complex vitamins since B vitamins always work together.

Remember, if supplementing B6, it is best to take B6 along with the other B vitamins in a B complex, because any long-term use of a singular B vitamin will cause an imbalance in the others. B-complex formulas are available with higher B6 that maintains a working balance of these precious vitamins.

Managing PMS with B6

With a healthy diet, good whole food multivitamin/mineral supplementation and balanced fats (these are necessary for proper B vitamin assimilation), and a complex B vitamin that's heavy on the B6, many women have been able to eliminate, or nearly eliminate their PMS symptoms. The gut also needs to be balanced in order to properly assimilate B vitamins. For more on B vitamins including ways to supplement, check out the first source below. And before starting B vitamin supplementation, check out Make Your Own Multivitamin & Kill Candida.

Sources:

http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com

Vitamin B6 (therapeutic uses), by: EBSCO CAM Review Board, Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health, January, 2014

University of Maryland Medical Center

World's Healthiest Foods

About the author:
Allene Edwards first became interested in alternative medicine and holistic treatment modalities when she successfully used diet therapy to manage her children�s ADHD. Later when she became chronically ill with an auto-immune disease that multiple doctors could not identify, much less cure, she successfully treated both the symptoms and the cause through naturopathic treatment and nutrition. She is the Managing Editor of Organic Lifestyle Magzine and a regular contributor.