Category: B vitamins

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Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxal, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, (P5P), pyridoxine, and pyridoxamine):

Food Sources of Vitamin B6 include:
  • fortified cereal, barley, buckwheat;
  • avocados, baked potato with the skin;
  • beef, poultry, salmon;
  • bananas, green leafy vegetables;
  • beans, nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seed kernels.
Symptoms of a B6 deficiency may include:
  • A severe deficiency of vitamin B6 may cause seizures;
  • other neurological (nervous system or brain) symptoms affecting mental health may include irritability, confusion, and/or depression;
  • the earliest signs of a B6 deficiency might be observed first in the mouth where the tongue may be swollen and painful and become smooth looking and have a bright magenta color; mouth ulcers and cracks or fissures at the corners of the mouth may also occur;
  • and a weakened immune system may occur with a deficiency of vitamin B6.

  • Three B vitamins, B6, B12 and folate, are all necessary for the breakdown of homocysteine, which at elevated levels may increase risk of heart disease. So deficiency of any one of the three B vitamins, B6, B12 and folate, may be involved with symptoms or a diagnosis of heart disease.

  • Symptoms of PMS (Pre-menstrual Syndrome) and symptoms of prenatal nausea and vomiting may be helped by supplemental B6 intake. This suggests a deficiency may be involved in the underlying cause of the symptoms or that an increased need for the nutrient occurs before menstruation and during pregnancy. All B vitamins are important during pregnancy as they are involved in the growth of new cells and are needed for converting sugar into usable energy.

The skin & GI tract have a rapid cell growth rate which requires energy.
B vitamins are involved in both cell growth & energy metabolism.

B vitamins work together as a group to help breakdown the sugar glucose into a usable form of energy.

Areas of the body that have a short life cycle for cells are the first areas affected by deficiency of B vitamins because new cells need energy to grow and the B vitamin group are also involved in other chemical reactions that are necessary for the growth of new cells. The lining of the intestinal tract can have a cell turnover rate of just one week and the tongue is part of the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract and has a similar quick rate of cell growth.

The skin at the corners of the mouth and the lips in general may also have a slightly quicker rate of cell turnover than other areas of the surface skin. Our outer skin and the lining of the GI-tract are similar and considered part of the same organ system.

“Deficiencies of niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, folic acid, or vitamin B12,  resulting from poor diet or from the administration of antagonists, may cause a sore, beefy-red tongue without a coat. In the chronic vitamin deficiency state, the tongue may become atrophic and smooth.”                   – “The Tongue – Clinical Methods – NCBI bookshelf  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236/

Pyroluria:

Pyroluria may be a genetic problem that causes increased urinary loss of B6 and zinc for some people. For patients with the condition adequate amounts of the nutrient cannot be readily obtained from food sources and large dose supplements are needed on a daily basis of both vitamin B6 and the mineral zinc. The condition is generally not assessed for or treated by the current medical system as it is not easy to diagnose. Anxiety is a primary symptom, migraine headaches and reduced tolerance for stress may also be symptoms. This post of mine has links and sources for more information: https://effectiveselfcare.info/2014/09/22/pyroluria-anxiety-and-deficiency-of-b6-and-zinc

This post by a medical doctor discusses the mental health and other symptoms in more detail. Emily Dickinson and Charles Darwin had similar symptoms. Daily supplements of zinc and B6 and/or the more bioactive form, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, (P5P), can quickly restore more normal health:  http://www.judytsafrirmd.com/pyroluria-mental-health-and-the-immune-system/

Lack of dreaming at night is a symptom of pyroluria likely due to a long term deficiency of vitamin B6. Once treatment with the large dose supplements has been underway for a while it is common for patients to report remembering dreaming at night again. Whether the deficiency of B6 is causing less time to be spent at night in the stage of sleep when dreaming is more likely to occur, or whether it interferes with the ability to remember dreams the next morning, is not known.

Reference used for food sources & symptoms of Vitamin B6 deficiency:
Other References used for the food sources of Vitamin B6:

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

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Niacin

Niacin (vitamin B3, niacinamide, and nicotinic acid):

Food Sources of Niacin include:
  • nutritional yeast;
  • meats, salmon and tuna;
  • beans, green peas, peanuts, and seeds;
  • avocado, mushrooms, green leafy vegetables;
  • grains, nixtamal flour, & fortified cereals;
  • milk, coffee and tea.
Symptoms of Niacin (Vitamin B3) Deficiency:

Digestive symptoms of less severe niacin deficiency may include nausea and vomiting and may also be able to be seen visibly as an unusually bright red tongue. Several B vitamins can cause changes in the appearance of the tongue as the cells all along the digestive tract need to be replaced frequently with new cells. The B vitamins work together as a group and many are essential for the growth of new cells. See the excerpt in the reference section for other B vitamins necessary for maintaining a healthy tongue.

Headache, apathy, memory loss, disorientation, and/or depression may be neurological symptoms that occur if niacin deficiency continues long term. Fatigue may also be a symptom of niacin deficiency.

Severe niacin deficiency is called pellagra. Symptoms of pellagra include skin rashes, (dermatitis), diarrhea, dementia, and eventually death if adequate niacin isn’t provided to the patient.

The condition was discovered in groups of people who lived primarily on a diet of corn or sorghum.  However the condition was not common in Mexico, in Central America, or for some groups of Native Americans. Corn in those areas was first soaked in an alkaline solution of lime or wood ash before being made into a type of flour called nixtamal.  The alkaline soaking method makes more of the grain’s niacin content available for absorption in the human digestive system.

Nixtamal flour is available to the home shopper and might be called tortilla or tamale flour. The ingredient list would include lime or wood ash if the product was made with the alkaline presoaking step.

The amino acid, tryptophan, can be converted to niacin within the body if adequate B6, folate and heme are available (an iron rich enzyme cofactor).

Background history regarding nicotinic acid, niacin, and nicotine:

Nicotinic acid and nicotine from tobacco cigarettes have similar names because they are similar chemicals but are not the same chemical and don’t have the same function within the body. This is a content marketing issue, read more – including the comments in the following link.

A summary: Nicotinic acid is a chemically reasonable name for the form of the nutrient that was initially discovered, but the similarity of the word to nicotine made people fearful when it was first added to foods and food labels as a new nutrient fortification being added to help prevent and treat pellagra. The use of a different form with a name change to “niacin” may have been a move at that time towards a form with a more commercially successful name even though it is not as descriptive of the way the chemical is formed as the name “nicotinic acid.”

Warning – non-harmful “Niacin flush” may occur with Nicotinic acid:

For some people, excessive supplementation with the nicotinic acid form of vitamin B3, but not the niacin form, may cause a temporary non-life-threatening reaction that may include symptoms of itching, a temporary flushing or reddening of the skin, nausea and vomiting. The reaction may be referred to as a “niacin flush.” A holistic practitioner describes the reaction in the following article and mentions that it usually goes away after a week of taking the supplement and that drinking some extra water during the sensation might help ease symptoms. The practitioner suggests that the reaction may be helpful for multiple sclerosis.

Niacinamide is a form of niacin that does not help reduce cholesterol

Niacin can be converted to niacinamide in the body and both forms are available as supplements which could help prevent deficiency symptoms. However niacin may also be helpful with blood lipid (fats) levels. It may help reduce elevated levels of triglycerides which can help prevent high cholesterol levels. Niacinamide is a form that does not affect blood lipid levels and wouldn’t be recommended over the niacin form if the goal is protecting cardiovascular (heart & blood vessel) health. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-924-niacin%20and%20niacinamide%20vitamin%20b3.aspx?activeingredientid=924&

B vitamins essential for health of the tongue (and Gastrointestinal tract):

Deficiency of several of the B vitamin group can cause changes in the appearance and surface texture of the tongue. B vitamins that can cause changes in the tongue are mentioned in the following excerpt and include “niacin (B3), riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), folic acid (folate/B9), and vitamin B12”:

  • “Deficiencies of niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, folic acid, or vitamin B12,  resulting from poor diet or from the administration of antagonists, may cause a sore, beefy-red tongue without a coat. In the chronic vitamin deficiency state, the tongue may become atrophic and smooth.”                   – “The Tongue – Clinical Methods – NCBI bookshelf  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236/

  • See the post on Vitamin B6 for more information about how the group of B vitamins work together in energy metabolism and cell growth.
Reference used for food sources & symptoms of Niacin deficiency:
Other References used for the food sources of Niacin:

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

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Thiamin: people with anorexia or alcoholism are more at risk for vitamin B1 deficiency

Thiamin (also called Thiamine or vitamin B1):

Food Sources of Thiamin (vitamin B1) include:
  • fortified flour or rice, whole grains;
  • lean pork, fish, eggs;
  • nutritional yeast;
  • cantaloupe; acorn squash, asparagus, green vegetables;
  • beans, green peas, nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seed kernels & other edible seeds including flax, sesame & chia.
Thiamin or vitamin B1 may have been the first vitamin to be discovered.

Thiamin is also known as vitamin B1. Historically it may have been the first vitamin to be discovered.  Around 2600 BC the symptoms of thiamin deficiency were described in Chinese literature.  Thiamin deficiency, or beriberi as it was commonly called, became a more frequent problem in some communities when white flour and polished rice were first introduced.  Milling brown rice removes thiamin from the grain along with the fibrous outer layer of the grains of rice.

Symptoms of beriberi, vitamin B1/Thiamin deficiency, can include:
  • rapid ‘fluttery’ heart rate;
  • enlarged heart;
  • edema or swelling of the extremities,
  • heart and lungs leading to breathing problems and eventually congestive heart failure; burning painful feet;
  • muscle weakness and pain;
  • Wernicke encephalopathy or Korsakoff psychosis are symptoms that may occur with more severe B1 deficiencies and which can include mental changes.
Deficiency of Thiamin is rare except with severe malnourishment or increased needs:

Chronic alcoholics and anorexic or other malnourished people are more at risk for thiamin deficiency.  Malaria and HIV may increase need for thiamin due to the infected cell’s increased use of the nutrient.  Renal patients on dialysis may need extra thiamin due to increased loss. The nutrient is fairly widely available and deficiencies are not typically found in people of average health with reasonably varied diets.

Reference used for food sources & symptoms of Thiamin deficiency:
Additional Reference used for Food Sources of Thiamin:

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

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Taurine and arginine are essential for preventing cardiac arrhythmias

An old post reopened in honor of Valentine’s Day – love your heart and your loved one’s too.

Taurine is an amino acid that is found in many animal protein foods but is less available in vegetarian diets. Generally the body can convert it from another amino acid called cysteine, however B6 is necessary for the conversion. While it is not typically considered an amino acid that must be supplied by the diet because it can be made from cysteine in normal health, during later years of life elderly people or malnourished people may not be able to make enough taurine and then it would be essential that the diet supplied enough of the protein. The heart needs more taurine than other muscles. Individuals with B6 deficiency problems may also have problems making the conversion of cysteine to taurine.

The 3 case histories of cardiac arrhythmia patients discussed in the link below were successfully treated with a combination of 10 to 20 grams of taurine and 3 to 6 grams of the amino acid, arginine, each day divided into mealtime and bedtime doses given in gelatin capsules:

Patient 1: “Taurine (5 grams with each meal and at bedtime) was taken daily. L-arginine (1.5 grams) in gelatin capsules was taken with each meal and at bedtime.” (64 y/o male, daily ~ 20 grams taurine and 6 grams arginine )

Patient 2:  “He took 10 grams (2.5 grams with each meal and at bedtime) of taurine and 4 grams (1 gram with each meal and at bedtime) of L-arginine each day. No drugs or pacemakers were used during amino acid therapy.”  (82 y/o male, daily ~10 grams taurine and 4 grams arginine)

Patient 3:  “He used 4 grams of taurine and one gram of L-arginine three times a day with meals.” (60 y/o male, daily ~ 12 grams taurine and 3 grams arginine)

/Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./

  1. by George Eby, M.S., Elimination of cardiac arrhythmias using oral taurine with L-arginine with case histories: hypothesis for nitric oxide stabilization of the sinus node, (Medical Hypotheses, 2006) [george-eby-research]  Excerpt:  “If the biosynthesis of taurine and L-arginine becomes inadequate in aging, they become essential nutrients rather than “conditional” essential nutrients. Unnecessary morbidity, such as cardiac arrhythmias, and mortality result if they are not supplemented in sufficient amounts.[18] Drugs should not be substituted for nutrients. It is hypothesized that doses of taurine in the 10 to 20 grams per day range combined with L-arginine in doses of 3 to 6 grams per day, will be found effective in the prevention of cardiac arrhythmias in clinical trials, and such trials are highly recommended. We hypothesize that cardiac arrhythmias not having a specific cause in otherwise healthy people are symptoms of nutrient deficiencies of taurine and L-arginine.”
  2. “Taurine,” [herbs2000.com/amino_acids/taurine.htm]