Vitamin B6 supplements are shown to raise B6 levels – a potential cancer preventive

Joe Bananas

The next time someone tells you that supplements are unnecessary because we can easily get all the nutrition we need from a proper diet, tell them to wake up and smell the bananas.

Of course, anyone CAN get optimal nutrition from a balanced diet of whole foods, but realistically that’s just not happening for the average Joe in our society.

And that’s why Joe might reap invaluable health benefits from a daily B6 supplement.

Why bananas?

Bananas have particularly high levels of vitamin B6, as does chicken breast meat. Other good sources include red meat, fish, beans, fruits, leafy greens and other vegetables.

If that looks anything like your diet, then you’re likely to have an adequate blood level of a group of enzymes known as PLP. When your B6 intake is high, PLP rises. And that’s the measurement used by a team of USDA scientists at Tufts University to determine B6 deficiency in a broad cross section of subjects.

STUDY PROFILE

• Blood samples were taken from more than 6,000 subjects over the age of one year
• PLP levels lower than 20 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) were considered inadequate
• Four subgroups typically had PLP levels lower than 20 nmol/L: Those over the age of 65, male smokers, non-Hispanic Black males, women of childbearing age who were users (or former users) of contraceptives
• Among women of childbearing age who used contraceptives, B6 supplement use was only marginally successful in maintaining adequate PLP levels
• PLP levels decreased in males after adolescence, but primarily among those who did not use B6 supplements

Across the entire study population, about a quarter of the subjects who didn’t take B6 supplements had low PLP levels, while only 11 percent of the supplement users had low levels.

Protecting the colon

One of the Tufts researchers, Martha Savaria Morris, Ph.D., told NutraIngredients-USA that subjects tended to have inadequate B6 status, “even though they reported consuming more than the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin B6, which is less than two milligrams per day.”

That’s an unfortunate result because when B6 intake is high, the elevated PLP levels activate enzyme systems that are essential for optimal health. In fact, more than 100 enzymes require B6 for proper function, and 19 out of 20 amino acids require B6.

In previous e-Alerts I’ve addressed one of the most significant benefits of B6 intake: reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

For instance: A 2005 Harvard Medical School study showed that subjects with the highest B6 levels had a much lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to subjects with the lowest levels of the vitamin.

Another Harvard study found a significant association between dietary intake of folate and B6 and a reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

And in a 2007 Tufts study, researchers reported that even a modest deficiency of key components in the B complex (including B6) increases colorectal cancer risk.

In the e-Alert “Prevention Made Easy” (2/5/08), HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., recommended 100 mg of B6 daily (along with other B vitamins, of course) and magnesium. Dr. Spreen: “B6 is definitely more effective in the company of magnesium – they work together intimately in the body.”

Talk to your doctor before supplementing with B6 or magnesium, especially if you have Parkinson’s disease. High levels of B6 may reduce potency of levodopa, a Parkinson’s medication. Note also that levodopa may contribute to B6 deficiency.

Sources:
“Plasma Pyridoxal 5′-Phosphate in the US Population: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2004” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87, No. 5, May 2008, ajcn.org
“Supplements a Solution for B6 Deficiency, Says Study” Shane Starling, NutriIngredients-USA, 5/21/08, nutraingredients-usa.com