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You are here : Healthopedia.com > Medical Encyclopedia > Diet and Nutrition > Vitamin B6
      Category : Health Centers > Food, Nutrition, and Metabolism

Vitamin B6

Alternate Names : Pyridoxine

Overview & Description | Functions and Sources | Attribution


Vitamin B6 is a vitamin that can be dissolved in water. It is one of the B-complex vitamins.

Information

The Recommended Dietary Allowance, called RDA, for vitamin B6 for men is 2 milligrams (mcg) per day; for women, it's 1.6 mcg per day. People who eat a well-balanced diet should get enough vitamin B6. Most people do not need to take supplements. Someone with a vitamin B6 deficiency can suffer from:

  • mouth sores
  • nausea
  • nervousness
  • fatigue
  • dizziness
  • convulsions, which are sudden, uncontrollable muscle spasms
  • A person can get too much vitamin B6. This only happens when high doses, more than 50 to 500 times the RDA, are taken over months or years. This can cause temporary or permanent nerve damage.


       

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    Vitamin B6: Functions and Sources

    Author: Kimberly Tessmer, RD, LD
    Reviewer: Kathleen A. MacNaughton, RN, BSN
    Date Reviewed: 09/26/02









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    Page Last Updated: 30th May, 2006