Simon never linked the pain in his hands and feet to multivitamins – but a pathology test did

[helvella]

Good that the article has been published - but they should not have missed the different forms of B6 which might be very important.

Simon never linked the pain in his hands and feet to multivitamins – but a pathology test did

A growing number of consumers are presenting with symptoms linked to high levels of vitamin B6, pathologists say, while the supplement industry goes unpoliced

theguardian.com/australia-n...

helvella - Vitamers of Vitamin B6

Some time ago, I mentioned that the form in which we take vitamin B6 is important. I think I linked to this paper below.

Last updated 20/07/2024

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[amala57]

Thank you for sharing, it's useful to know about this. Happy New Year! 😊

[HandS]

I read this yesterday; one day a report on hospitalisation for nutritional deprivation, the next a problem caused by excess of a vitamin.

It did say the gentleman concerned was taking a multivitamin for ‘another health condition’ - so the assumption I made is that the multi was advised by his doctor ….. with no warning of risks of taking other supplements.

But at either end of the scale (and planet!) both situations demonstrate a missed opportunity - i.e. broken link between nutrition /dietetics and medical practice. Particularly in primary health care. A topic that often arises on this forum.

[helvella Administrator in reply to HandS]

Very much agreed.

We often see products with contents that are hundreds, or thousands, of percent of some daily requirement. And these are being taken on top of whatever is present in our food intake. Those of us who are aware of potentially being low have a horrible tendency to over-do supplementation.

I am taking B12, folate and vitamin D because:

I have previously found B12 beneficial and that is the ONE which seems to genuinely have no upper limit for most of us

I recently had a folate test and found my level was a bit lower than I would have expected as I consume several fairly high folate foods. So a very modest supplement.

And vitamin D because that too was low.

Occasionally I take a B complex - but rarely more than once a week. Too many things in excess to take more often.

[HandS]

My vit D was always low and I too took a vit D supplement but recently read that taking high doses of vit D without K2 raises the risk of calcification of arterial blood vessels - which I already have - as most aging people do. So I am switching to that regime.

[bookish in reply to HandS]

Hi, are you also using/taking magnesium? The D can't work as effectively without and it could exacerbate a magnesium deficiency (which is common anyway). The K2 is a very good idea. Cheers

[HandS in reply to bookish]

no, I took it once and it didn’t agree with me

Thank you very much for the suggestion.

I do eat a very good balanced diet

[bookish in reply to HandS]

No problem! Just in case you ever feel like trying it again, there are many different forms of magnesium and methods of delivery. I use Better You sensitive oil spray on skin at night, which means that you can start with a tiny amount. Cheers

[Pastille]

Scary! (Simon's surname! I've never heard it before) taking something thinking it is doing you good and it is doing you harm....we need to be always learning to stay safe. Thank you for sharing, I was, honestly, about to order Magnesium with B6.

[samaja]

The safe daily limit for B6 is 10 mg and any multivitam or B complex with more should not be taken until there is a clear diagnosis of B6 deficiency and not long term.

[helvella Administrator in reply to samaja]

Where is that stated?

There are sources which suggest the tolerable upper limit is much higher than that. (Erroneously, in my opinion.)

Vitamin B6

Fact Sheet for Health Professionals

ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/V...

But a paper from 2023 suggests 12 milligrams.

Scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin B6

EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA)

efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.co...

[samaja in reply to helvella]

COMMITTEE ON TOXICITY OF CHEMICALS IN FOOD, CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT STATEMENT ON VITAMIN B6 (PYRIDOXINE) TOXICITY from June 1997. I only have it in PDF not a link but it is the limit the Pernicious Anaemia/B 12 Deficiency Support Group support as well.

[helvella Administrator in reply to samaja]

Thank you. Is this it?

Select Committee on Agriculture Fifth Report

VITAMIN B6

publications.parliament.uk/...

In my view, it would be questionable to use a statement about pyridoxine as valid for P-5-P. It is also rather old. That doesn't in itself invalidate the conclusion, it would be relatively unusually for a paper coming up to thirty years old to remain the best advice available.

I quoted 12 milligrams - which isn't very far away.

[samaja in reply to helvella]

No, it was the original statement I have but they refer to it in the link. If you actually search the Committee's page now you will also see they are still debating the issue.

Yes, it is old but I think there is also plenty of current anectodal evidence that it still remains valid. 12 milligrams would be within the statistical error so I would take it 8-).

B6 is one ot those vitamins quite a lot of people are apparently deficient in but then taking a lot of synthetic B6 on top of the food both natural and 'enriched' with B6 can actually spiral into toxicity pretty quickly if not monitored. As somebody who experienced it, I would always err on the side of caution.