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Pyridoxine
and Your Heart
From studies, pyridoxine has proven itself
can help prevent heart disease. The amount of homocysteine
in the blood is regulated by at least three vitamins: folic
acid, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6. One of the most important
effect from vitamin B6 is keeping your red blood cells from
getting "sticky" and clumping together, or aggregating.
When that happens, the cells release powerful chemicals
that eventually cause arteriosclerosis deposits that clog
up your arteries and could lead to a heart attack or stroke.
If enough cells clump together, they form a clot that blocks
an artery. Again, the result is a heart attack or stroke.
If you're risky for arteriosclerosis or already have it,
taking pyridoxine supplements could slow down the process.
Here is another fact: people who just had heart attacks
have low levels of pyridoxine. Several large observational
studies have demonstrated an association between low vitamin
B6 intake or status with increased blood homocysteine levels
and increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. A large prospective
study found the risk of heart disease in women who consumed,
on average, 4.6 mg of vitamin B6 daily to be only 67% of
the risk in women who consumed an average of 1.1 mg daily.
Another large prospective study found higher plasma levels
of PLP to be associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular
disease, independent of homocysteine levels. In contrast
to folic acid supplementation, studies of vitamin B6 supplementation
alone have not resulted in significant decreases of fasting
levels of homocysteine. However, vitamin B6 supplementation
has been found effective in lowering blood homocysteine
levels after an oral dose of methionine (methionine load
test) was given, suggesting it may play a role in the metabolism
of homocysteine after meals.
Pyridoxine
and Your Immune System
You need all the B vitamins for your
immune system to work right, but pyridoxine is the key.
Without it, you can't produce enough of the special infection-fighting
cells that fend off illness. Low vitamin B6 intake and status
have been associated with impaired immune function, especially
in the elderly, as well as alcoholics, cancer patients,
and others. Studies suggest that adequate vitamin B6 intake
is important for optimal immune system function in older
individuals. However, one study found that the amount of
vitamin B-6 required to reverse these immune system impairments
in the elderly was 2.9 mg/day for men and 1.9 mg/day for
women, more than the current RDA.
Elderly people are very vulnerable to illness - and up to
a third of all elderly people have low pyridoxine levels.
In part, that's because you just absorb less of the B's
from your food as you grow older. It's also because many
elderly people don't eat well, especially if they live alone
or in a nursing home. The lack of pyridoxine makes them
more likely to get sick and also makes them take longer
to get better. If you're over age 60 or if your immune system
isn't working well for some reason, be sure to get some
B supplements, especially vitamin B6, or to play it safe,
take a good daily multivitamin as well.
Click
here for Rainbow Light 40+ Complete Multivitamin
Pyridoxine
and Asthma
Some people with asthma benefit from
pyridoxine supplements, possibly because their bodies don't
use it properly to begin with. Taking extra may bring their
pyridoxine level closer to normal, which reduces their wheezing
and cuts back on how often they have attacks.
A drug called theophylline is sometimes prescribed for asthma
- and also for bronchitis and emphysema. It's an effective
treatment, but it has a lot of bad side effects, including
headaches, nausea, irritability, tremors, sleeping problems,
and even seizures. The side effects are caused because theophylline
blocks the way your body uses pyridoxine. Even if you're
taking in enough through your food, the drug is keeping
you from using it. Pyridoxine supplements have been shown
to reduce the side effects of theophylline, especially tremor.
Pyridoxine
and Diabetic Complications
People with diabetes sometimes get a
painful nerve condition called diabetic neuropathy. The
symptoms are similar to the symptoms you would get with
severe pyridoxine deficiency - and many diabetics are low
on pyridoxine. Is there a connection? Some researchers say
yes. They feel diabetic neuropathy could be prevented by
taking 150 mg of pyridoxine daily. If you have diabetes
and want to try pyridoxine to treat or prevent diabetic
neuropathy, take some extra pyridoxine may just help.
Pyridoxine
and PMS
PMS refers to a cluster of symptoms,
including but not limited to fatigue, irritability, moodiness/depression,
fluid retention, and breast tenderness, that begin sometime
after ovulation (mid-cycle) and subside with the onset of
the monthly period. Researchers have been looking into pyridoxine
for treating PMS ever since the early 1970s. In the studies,
women who took pyridoxine felt that their symptoms - including
depression, irritability, headaches, and fluid retention
- got better. We suggest you try taking 50 mg a day in the
days before your period. It won't hurt and there's a good
chance it might help.
Pyridoxine
and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Your wrist is a marvel of engineering.
To make this joint flexible, bones, ligaments, and muscles
all come tightly together, leaving only a narrow passage
- the carpal tunnel - for the nerves leading to your hand.
If anything swells up in your wrist, even a little, it presses
on the passage and squeezes the nerves. The result? Carpal
tunnel syndrome (CTS), a painful problem that is becoming
very common. Carpal tunnel syndrome causes numbness, pain,
and weakness of the hand and fingers due to compression
of the median nerve at the wrist which sometimes occurs
with pregnancy or hypothyroidism. Women seem to to get CTS
more often than men.
Several early studies by the same investigator suggested
that vitamin B6 status was low in individuals with carpal
tunnel syndrome and that supplementation with 100-200 mg/day
over several months was beneficial. A recent study found
decreased blood levels of PLP to be associated with increased
pain, tingling, and nocturnal wakening, all symptoms of
carpal tunnel syndrome, in men who were not taking vitamins.
A lot of people claim that pyridoxine supplements help or
even "cure" CTS. It's possible that pyridoxine
can help, however, if it's taken in moderate doses (150
mg a day) along with other treatments, such as physical
therapy and drugs to relieve the swelling.
About
Pyridoxine Supplements
While extreme B6 deficiency is rare,
marginal deficiency are more likely. Certain groups are
at a greater risk of deficiency, including the elderly,
alcoholic, and women on high-dose oral contraceptives-although
the studies done with contraceptives were conducted when
the level of estrogen in the pill was three of five times
higher than the oral agents used today.
When deficiencies occur, they are usually
associated with other nutrient deficiencies. For example,
since riboflavin is needed for the production of B6, a deficiency
in riboflavin could lead to low levels of B6. The earliest
symptoms of vitamin B6 deficiency are changes in the nervous
system, which can be seen on an EEG (electroencephalogram).
Severe deficiency may result in seizures, dermatitis, glossitis
(smooth tongue), cheilosis (cracking of corners of the mouth),
stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth), irritability, and
anemia.
Vitamin B6 supplementation has been used
in the treatment of or in an attempt to prevent, a number
of diseases, including Down's Syndrome, autism, gestational
diabetes (diabetic neuropathy. pregnancy), premenstrual
syndrome, CTS, and diabetic neuropathy.
Since sometimes young people (rarely
kids) and elders may need vitamin B-6 supplements for Asthma,
Heart Disease and Low Immune Systems, we suggest a liquid
vitamin B-6 supplements (easy to intake, no more huge pills)
which is good price and delivers result super fast (because
it is liquid therefore it is easy for body to absorb.)
Click
here for Carlson Labs Liquid Vitamin B6
You may also consider taking a B-complex
vitamin or Multivitamin that contains all necessary B vitamins
to save all the trouble and avoid being overdose in particular
vitamin. We suggest the following two brand.
Click
here for Rainbow Light 40+ Complete Multivitamin
Click
here to purchase Twinlab B-Complex vitamins 100 Caps and
save!
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