The Dangers of Vitamin B6 Excess: What You Need to Know – Men’s Health

2023-06-12 10:42:18

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Getting enough vitamins is critical to many of the processes in our body. But getting too many vitamins is also dangerous in some cases. In this article we tell you about the dangers of a vitamin B6 excess. Dangers that some top athletes and experts sometimes overlook.

How do you get too much vitamin B6?

Vitamin B6 is used in many body processes that are important for athletes. For example, your blood production, protein synthesis and your immune system. In addition, vitamin B6 promotes your brain metabolism, so that you can concentrate better. With a normal, versatile diet, you get enough vitamin B6 to keep these processes running efficiently. Sometimes athletes (or non-athletes) choose to supplement with the idea of ​​optimizing the aforementioned processes, despite the fact that they have little or no vitamin B6 deficiency. If it doesn’t hurt, it won’t hurt, right? Not quite. Despite the fact that vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin, you can get poisoned with all the consequences if you take too much vitamin B6 for a long time.

What Does Too Much Vitamin B6 Do?

What Are the Vitamin B6 Excess Symptoms? That is a question you can also ask former Olympic champion long track speed skater Sven Kramer. After a disappointing Olympic campaign in 2010, his nutritionist discovered that he had too little vitamin B6 in his body. This expert wanted to do something about it and prescribed supplements with a (too) high dose. The prolonged B6 excess that followed delivered vitamin B6 poisoning and nerve damage. If it doesn’t help, it will hurt, so.

Nerve damage such as Sven Kramer manifests itself in tingling in the hands and feet and is also called peripheral neuropathy. This type of nerve damage can have serious consequences that sometimes take months or more to resolve. The fact that too much vitamin B6 can cause sensory disorders seems to us reason enough not to supplement. If you really need it, take a supplement that does not exceed the daily recommended amount of 1.5mg.

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