READING, England — Taking high-dose vitamin B6 supplements could assist to scale back emotions of tension and depression, a brand new research reveals. Researchers from the University of Reading in England report that younger adults taking a dose 50 instances the beneficial each day dose reported feeling much less anxious and depressed after a month.
What is vitamin B6?
Vitamin B6 helps the physique flip protein and carbohydrates into power and it additionally performs an vital position in the nervous system. It additionally will increase the physique’s manufacturing of GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid), a chemical that blocks impulses between nerve cells in the mind.
Vitamin B6 is discovered naturally in quite a lot of meals, together with salmon, tuna, chickpeas, and bananas.
“The functioning of the brain relies on a delicate balance between the excitatory neurons that carry information around and inhibitory ones, which prevent runaway activity,” says Dr. David Field from the University of Reading in a media release. “Recent theories have connected mood disorders and some other neuropsychiatric conditions with a disturbance of this balance, often in the direction of raised levels of brain activity. Vitamin B6 helps the body produce a specific chemical messenger that inhibits impulses in the brain, and our study links this calming effect with reduced anxiety among the participants.”
The research supplies proof missing in earlier research as to what precisely drives the stress-reducing results of marmite and multivitamins.
More than 300 individuals took both a placebo or Vitamin B6 or B12 supplements at 50 instances the beneficial quantity – round 70mg. Each participant took one pill a day with meals. Vitamin B12 had little impact in comparison with the placebo, however B6 confirmed a statistically dependable distinction.
Is there a threat from taking an excessive amount of?
Visual checks on the finish of the trial confirmed the raised ranges of GABA in individuals taking Vitamin B6, supporting the speculation that the supplements decreased anxiousness.
The staff additionally detected delicate however innocent adjustments in visible efficiency, in keeping with managed ranges of mind exercise. Health officers in the United Kingdom advocate that folks don’t take too high a dose – greater than 200mg a day – because it can lead to a loss of feeling in the legs and arms. In a couple of instances, this has grow to be everlasting in individuals who have taken very giant doses for a number of months.
“Many foods, including tuna, chickpeas and many fruits and vegetables, contain Vitamin B6. However, the high doses used in this trial suggest that supplements would be necessary to have a positive effect on mood,” Dr. Field continues. “It is vital to acknowledge that this analysis is at an early stage and the impact of Vitamin B6 on anxiety in our research was fairly small in comparison with what you’ll count on from remedy. However, nutrition-based interventions produce far fewer disagreeable uncomfortable side effects than medication, and so in the long run individuals would possibly choose them as an intervention.
“To make this a realistic choice, further research is needed to identify other nutrition-based interventions that benefit mental wellbeing, allowing different dietary interventions to be combined in future to provide greater results,” the research writer concludes. “One potential option would be to combine Vitamin B6 supplements with talking therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to boost their effect.”
The research is published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental.
South West News Service author Danny Halpin contributed to this report.
