Professional guidance with regard to dietary supplementation, especially in treating neuropathy and chronic pain, is well worth your while!

Pyridoxine, or vitamin B6, could be both actually.

Portrait of a doctorLike all vitamins, vitamin B6 is an essential nutrient. But unlike other nutrients, both too much and too little vitamin B6 can cause peripheral neuropathy.

The amount of vitamin B6 necessary to cause neuropathy varies.

Some studies show it must be hundreds of milligrams or more per day. However, some patients will start to show signs of peripheral neuropathy at dosages above 100 milligrams per day.

The generally accepted safe dose is a maximum of 100 mg per day. The reality is, most of the time, patients need less than half of that.

Much like the other B vitamins, vitamin B6 was discovered in the 1930s. It was also discovered that, like the other B vitamins, deficiency of B6 often manifests as a skin disorder first. Now, with modern biochemistry, we know much more about this key nutrient. The primary function of vitamin B6 is to allow our body to synthesize, or put together, large molecules, including proteins that make up the vast majority of our body tissues—including skin, muscles, and organs… and our nerves!

B6 is also essential for our body to manufacture compounds necessary for nerve health and nerve transmission.

But vitamin B6 is a balancing act. Not enough B6 will cause nerve damage, and too much B6 can cause nerve damage. Again, this can occur in some people at as little as 100 mg per day.

Good sources of vitamin B6 include vegetables, nuts, bananas, and meats. However, cooking and improper storage of food can cause the vitamin B6 content to be depleted relatively easily.

Much like the other B vitamins, if you’re deficient in B6, you’re likely deficient in the others as well. This is why supplying these supplemental vitamins in complexes is usually best!

As you can see, balance is essential to your health. This is also why professional guidance with regard to dietary supplementation, especially in treating neuropathy and chronic pain, is well worth your while!

One other key thing to realize about vitamin B6 is it does have some excellent clinical uses. Two of the most classic usages are for tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as pre-menstrual syndrome.

Because vitamin B6 can affect the metabolism of certain drugs, especially those administered for Parkinson’s disease, it’s very important that you share all your medications and dosages with your healthcare professionals on a regular basis.

So once again, we can see that the more you learn about nutrition, the more you are able to help yourself and those around you!

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