Too much B6 is really a bad deal

I take 180 mg of B1, B2, B6 and pantothenic acid; 100 mg of B3; 200
mcg of B12; and 0.8 mg of folic acid.

I don't supplement ``for'' anything, other than optimal health and
athletic performance.

I feel great.


You had better start monitoring your blood levels.

What you are totally overlooking is that not everyone responds the same to
these supplements. If I produced a study that said most people do not have
any side effects from monosodium glutamate that still wouldn't be applicable
to the many people who do have problems with it.

People have different reactions, that's all. You are just playing doctor on
a newsgroup when you advise people to take a supplement.

Pat in TX

Hey all,

A bunch of web surfing turned up this website:

http://www.holistichealthtopics.com/HMG/Bvitamin.html

Pat, please read through it carefully it for your friend! It is an
eye-opener. It seems that pyridoxine is not actually toxic, but
having too much can cause severe deficiencies of other nutrients, in
particular the other B-vitamins. For example, some of the major
"toxic" effects of pyridoxine overdose are the same as symptoms of B12
deficiency (numbness, sensory ataxia, etc.). Too much B6 can even
cause an effective B6-deficiency! (sounds crazy but read the link)
So j3777 and the folks above recommending their favorite B-complexes
may not be so far off target--still the above link also suggests that
different people absorb different B-vitamins at different rates, so
you might put a balanced B-complex pill in your mouth but what gets
into your system is out of balance. In the worst case, a person would
have to find the right balance themselves, supplementing with
individual B-vitamins in different amounts.

Also thanks to Carol J for mentioning the electrolytes-- celery juice
has removed my dizziness. (Not the unsteadiness though-- so the two
things come from two different causes it seems.)

On May 2, 11:18 am, wrote:
Hey all,

A bunch of web surfing turned up this website:

http://www.holistichealthtopics.com/HMG/Bvitamin.html

Pat, please read through it carefully it for your friend! It is an
eye-opener. It seems that pyridoxine is not actually toxic, but
having too much can cause severe deficiencies of other nutrients, in
particular the other B-vitamins. For example, some of the major
"toxic" effects of pyridoxine overdose are the same as symptoms of B12
deficiency (numbness, sensory ataxia, etc.). Too much B6 can even
cause an effective B6-deficiency! (sounds crazy but read the link)
So j3777 and the folks above recommending their favorite B-complexes
may not be so far off target--still the above link also suggests that
different people absorb different B-vitamins at different rates, so
you might put a balanced B-complex pill in your mouth but what gets
into your system is out of balance. In the worst case, a person would
have to find the right balance themselves, supplementing with
individual B-vitamins in different amounts.

Also thanks to Carol J for mentioning the electrolytes-- celery juice
has removed my dizziness. (Not the unsteadiness though-- so the two
things come from two different causes it seems.)

Ok, although I still feel a little weak and slow, like after an
illness, I've managed to reverse nearly all my symptoms in just a few
days by doing the following: in breakfast, I include a liver spread
(for B12), some yeast extract spread (B1,B2,B3 and some B9), and
blackstrap molasses (B5, B6), together with a 400mg magnesium citrate
pill. With lunch, a fish oil pill (omega 3 is used to build myelin
which covers nerves) and some mineral powder (for zinc and manganese
in particular). After dinner, I repeat the liver and yeast spreads
and the magnesium.

You could argue that I was due to recover anyway, but from my
perspective I was just feeling worse and worse until I did the yeast
spread--in 30 minutes I had the strangest sensation like my brain was
tingling. Next morning I felt like normal for the first time in
months. Even the back pain ("osteoarthritis"), after worsening over a
period of weeks, has been lessening over the past few days.

Also the symptoms typically start to come back a little in the late
afternoon, say 5-8 pm, so I plan to try moving the evening "doses"
back a bit.

No more vitamin pills for me! In fact I'd like to get away from any
and all pills... maybe I'm overreacting, but after a bad experience
and a crash course in the huge uncertainties surrounding vitamin
science, that's how I feel about it. Here are some instances of what
I mean:

1) B12 is cobalamin, but B12 supplements are usually cyanocobalamin,
an unnatural form which is absorbed only very slowly--one of the
reasons being that the body has to deal with the cyanide part if it
wants the cobalamin part. Mostly it just refuses and dumps the rest
out--that's why cyanocobalamin is "nontoxic" even in huge amounts, and
why you need huge amounts to get any benefit. Cobalamin is unstable
so it's difficult to put it in a pill, whereas cyanocobalamin is very
stable. Another form, methylcobalamin, is supposed to be better
absorbed by the body, but I have found it gives me acute diarrhea---
who knows why, I'll just pass on that one from now on.
2) There are 8 forms of vitamin E, but vitamin E supplements are
usually just one form--alpha tocopherol. All the science has been
over this one form, whether synthetic or natural is better, whether it
causes or prevents heart disease, etc. But now it turns out that
maybe gamma tocopherol is the one with the benefit, and that maybe
just like with the B vitamins, you need all 8 of them working
together--supplementing just one can block the others and maybe harm
your health! Scientific experiments are swell until you realize that
you're just plain asking the wrong questions--then you find out it was
all a waste of time, maybe customers got hurt and anyway they wasted
their money trying to help themselves.

I bet there are hundreds of examples like these. If you're a
scientist, and you thought the question of whether "vitamin E" is
"good" for you or "bad" for you was an important one, then you bought
into mythology and superstition.

On Apr 26, 9:54 am, "j3777" wrote:
wrote:

In "Dr. Atkins' Vita Nutrient Solution" the doctor recommended a minimum daily intake of 100mg of Vitamin B6 per day. He specifically pointed out that n the large doses ( 500mg per day) B6 can have a tendency to produce a tingling or numbness in the extremeties. This condition is reversed with a lowering of the dosage.

Also, he stressed that it is crucial to compliment your B6 intake with equal strength supplimentation of B12 and Folic Acid for a synergistic effect.

This is backed up by the Eades in either Protein Power or Protein
Power Life Plan. Same thing for Omega3&6. I think Ramon's link
probably suggests the same thing.

The cure for friend might be increased b12.