February 11, 2025 • 22 mins
When does vitamin B6 become toxic? This is a crucial question for health-conscious individuals, supplement users, and anyone self-prescribing vitamins. In this episode of The Wellness Connection, nutritionist Fiona Kane breaks down the risks of vitamin B6 toxicity in a clear, relatable way.
You’ll learn:
The signs and symptoms of B6 overdose (they're not always what you’d expect)
Why some people react to even small doses
How deficiency and toxicity can look exactly the same
Why ongoing monitoring is essential when taking supplements
Fiona shares her personal and clinical experience to help you stay safe, informed, and empowered when it comes to your health choices.
🎧 Hit play now to learn when vitamin B6 crosses the line from helpful to harmful, and how to avoid it.
Learn more about booking a nutrition consultation with Fiona: https://informedhealth.com.au/
Learn more about Fiona's speaking and media services: https://fionakane.com.au/
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Credit for the music used in this podcast:
The Beat of Nature
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Fiona Kane (00:01):
Hello and welcome to the Wellness Connection Podcast
.
I'm your host, Fiona Kane.
Today I'm going to be talkingabout something that's in the
news a little bit lately well,in Australia it is anyway and
that's vitamin B6.
It's in the news because thereare some people talking about
having too much in their systemand it causing health issues,
(00:23):
and I want to address thatbecause it's an important topic,
especially now, because one ofthe things I talk about quite a
lot and one of the reasons I saybook in and see me or book in
and see a qualified practitioner, is for this exact reason, and
I'll explain to you in a moment.
We are trained in how toidentify deficiencies, how to
(00:45):
identify if someone's got toomuch of something, the test to
do those kinds of things.
We know what we're doing.
The problem is now that manypeople are buying all the
supplements from the supermarketor the health food store or
wherever it is, and they mightnot be getting the right advice.
But not only that, even if theyare getting the right advice,
for that time, what people tendto do is a set and forget thing.
(01:08):
So they get a vitamin ormineral and they just start
taking it, and they just take itfor the next five years,
whereas if you see a healthpractitioner, we will get you to
come back and we will reviewyour symptoms and we know what
to look for and know to look forcertain signs and symptoms.
I did a whole episode aboutsupplements and I will actually
link that on YouTube.
(01:28):
I'll link it as like the nextvideo, so otherwise you can go
to my podcast and look for itabout supplements Anyway.
So I want to talk to you alittle bit about vitamin B6 and
about some of the issues here.
So first of all, it's importantto so I'm just referring to my
notes.
It's easier if the notes are infront of me, so for those
(01:49):
watching, sorry if I'm notlooking at the camera.
So vitamin B6 is awater-soluble vitamin, which is
what makes people think that youjust wear it out if you have
too much and you can't end upwith too much, but you can.
You can end up with too much,but you can.
You can end up with too much inyour system.
It can build up in your system.
Now it does many things,including it helps metabolize
(02:13):
proteins, carbs and fats, sobasically metabolize your food.
It's involved in energymetabolism, immune function,
cognitive function, makesneurotransmitters in your brain.
Cognitive function makesneurotransmitters in your brain.
It's part of how you makeneurotransmitters to make
hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin is the protein inyour red blood cells that is
(02:33):
responsible for deliveringoxygen to the tissue around your
body.
B6 is very important.
It plays a really, reallyimportant role Now sometimes and
pyridoxine hydrochloride is themost common form that you'll
see in supplements and that kindof thing.
(02:58):
Now, they've been looking atthis and they've been monitoring
this and there's no perfectanswer for how much is too much,
because it's different indifferent people.
Generally speaking, whatthey're seeing is these symptoms
, which I'll explain to you whatthe symptoms are in a moment,
but they're associated with highdoses of 100 to 500 milligrams
(03:19):
daily.
Now, most people will only betaking if you're taking one
supplement, there might be 25milligrams or something in that.
Now, in my situation, mepersonally, I've twice sort of
got myself overdosed I supposeis the word on B6, just
personally me, and that's onquite small doses.
(03:40):
So for me, I can just be taking25 milligrams and it's too much
for me, right?
So there's not an exact number.
It's just about treating theindividual, which is why we
always look at treating theindividual.
But, generally speaking in thereports that they're seeing the
high doses it's like over 100milligram is where they're
(04:01):
seeing these symptoms.
Now there's two main symptomsthat I have seen in clinical
practice and in myself.
So in the 18 years I've beenpracticing, I have twice seen
people start to show symptoms ofhaving too much B6.
In both cases I stopped themfrom taking it and I sent them
(04:23):
to their GP in Australia, that'syour local doctor for a blood
test to just check the levels sothat we could rule in or rule
out whether the B6 was the causeof their symptoms.
Now, both of those patients,they both had numbness and
tingling and some pain.
(04:45):
So essentially, the commonsymptom is peripheral neuropathy
, and that's kind of thesymptoms you get, and it's
usually in your hands and feet.
So it's kind of numbness,tingling, pain, just sort of
strange symptoms.
It could be burning as well inyour hands and feet, and for me,
(05:05):
though, the symptom was quitedifferent.
So I didn't get that when I hadtoo much in my system and I had
.
When I look at my blood testresults, I had just as much as
my clients did and my symptomwas anxiety, but it was like a
different.
So it was, I was really overthe top with, okay, I've got to
(05:29):
do this, got to do this, got todo that, got to do, and I
couldn't turn it off and youknow so before I could go to go
to bed.
But then I'd have thischecklist of a dishwasher and
not that, like, of course, mostwomen will relate to having the
checklist.
So we all have that to anextent.
But this was kind of onoverdrive.
So I just as overdrive thing ofthose checklists and double
(05:49):
checking where I was at, doublechecking what I was doing and
getting things ticked off thelist.
Excuse me, for a moment, I justhad to cough.
I saved you from having tolisten to it.
Sorry about that.
So yeah, so mine was kind of ahypervigilance type anxiety
that's the symptom I got.
And so when it came back thesecond time, I recognized it and
(06:10):
I was quite surprised because Ididn't think I was taking much
B6, but I had another look and Iwas taking a really small
amount.
But for me a really smallamount was enough.
And I'm trying to think if Iremember it was 15 or 25, but it
was a low dose.
But that was just too much forme, right?
Whereas most people they couldhappily tolerate that dosage.
So, with my clients, we justtook them off.
(06:33):
The supplement and the symptomsyou know in most cases, and
especially if you pick this upreally early on, which is why
you go back and see yourpractitioner, it's why you
return.
People don't understand thevalue of returning.
They honestly think supplementsare set and forget.
Medications are also not setand forget, like if your doctor
prescribes medications.
They want you to come back inso many weeks, so many months,
(06:54):
whatever it is, so that they canassess, you know, is the
medication working?
Is it affecting your liver, isit causing a problem?
You know they'll do a bloodtest to make sure your kidneys,
liver, function, you know.
So it's the same withsupplements, right?
So it's not set and forget.
You get advice from a personwho knows what they're talking
about and you go back and youtalk to them about symptoms and
(07:15):
you talk to them about is ithelping with the symptoms that
you're taking it for or with theissue that you're taking it for
?
Is it causing new symptoms?
What's going on?
And peripheral neuropathy can becaused by many things.
It is a common symptom withpeople with diabetes.
Neuropathy can be caused bymany things is a common symptom
with people with diabetes and soyou can't just like make the
assumption that I'm taking B6,that's why I have this symptom.
(07:37):
But if you are taking B6 andyou're getting this symptom,
then it is worth stopping the B6and assessing and, like I said,
your doctor can do a simpleblood test just to see your
levels of B6 and you can workout whether that's causing the
problem or obviously look intoother causes, other reasons why
you might be having thesesymptoms, because it might be
some other neurological thing.
(07:58):
So I'm not saying the symptommeans you have an overdone,
overdose, whatever it just couldbe, which is why you have to be
aware of it and practitionerswill kind of have their ear out
and kind of be looking for thesekind.
You have to be aware of it andpractitioners will kind of have
their ear out and kind of belooking for these kind of people
.
To say this the same as a GPknows what symptoms a medication
(08:20):
causes, well we know whatsymptoms that you might get from
a supplement.
So we'll not only be lookingfor the good things about what
the supplement might be doing,but we'll also be looking to
make sure it's not doinganything wrong or it's not
causing any problems, all right.
So there's no such thing, youknow, because people again, I
said this in my last one when Italked about supplements but
(08:41):
people always assume thatsupplements are safe.
And the problem is that thepeople who are, you know, the
sort of people who are againstsupplements say it's expensive,
urine, blah, blah, blah, they'rea waste of money.
Well, the problem is, if yousay that they're benign, then
that means they can't cause aproblem, right.
(09:01):
And they can cause a problem ifthey're not benign, right.
Which is also why they dosomething good, the same as
medications, right?
So medications can do somewonderful things for your body
and they can also do some nastythings.
Well, supplements are the same.
They can do some wonderfulthings, but they're not benign
(09:23):
and they can cause some problems.
And that is why you havesomeone who knows how to
prescribe it for you and monitorit for you, so that you know
that you're okay and that youknow that you're in safe hands.
And I would just say, if youstart getting any new symptom
after you start taking anything,whether it be a medication,
(09:45):
whether it be a supplement,investigate it right, because it
can be the thing you're taking.
I've had allergic reactions toboth medications and supplements
.
So if you start taking asupplement or a medication and
you come out on spots, stoptaking it and talk to your
practitioner.
Or if it's a medication thatyou're not supposed to, just
(10:05):
stop Talk to your doctor as soonas possible, go to the
emergency, whatever better, butyou're probably best to go off
it as quickly as possible, aslong as it's safe to do so,
because the longer you stay onit, the more of an allergic
reaction you're going to haveright?
So just don't see these thingsas benign.
See these things as things thatcan be really helpful, but
they're not benign.
(10:25):
Now I'm just going to talk toyou a little bit more about the
B6.
So the issue with B6 as welland this goes for a lot of
supplements is that sometimesthe sign of deficiency and the
sign of toxicity are the samething.
(10:46):
So deficiency in B6 can looklike things like dermatitis or
red rashes.
It can look like anemia, it canlook like weakness, being
sleepless, having fatigue,peripheral neuropathy, like I
said Actually, no peripheralneuropathy, right See, here is
not the issue.
So peripheral neuropathy is asign of deficiency and it's also
(11:10):
a sign of toxicity.
You don't know which it is.
So, rather than going blind,that's why we need to assess
these things and that's why itcan be really, really useful,
because someone who is actuallyexperiencing a deficiency of B6
and having peripheral neuropathyfor that reason, the B6 is
actually a really great thingfor them.
So it's not sort of as simple,as no one should ever take it.
(11:32):
It's all bad.
It's about what you need andit's about looking at these
symptoms and looking at theindividual.
So the other thing is that kindof either a swollen tongue or
you might find like have cracksin the corner of your lips.
Now, some of these symptomsrelate to other B vitamins and
relate to other nutrients, soit's not just like everyone
(11:54):
who's got this symptom has thisdeficiency.
It's not as simple as that, butthese are just some signs and
symptoms that you might havethis issue.
Also, b6 is involved in bloodsugar regulation, so if you're
not going to control your bloodsugar levels very well, a B6
deficiency might be part of thatAgain, which is why B6 can be
(12:15):
really, really useful, becauseif someone isn't managing their
blood glucose levels, it'sreally important that in that
case that they might take it,but needs to have the right dose
and maybe the right kind.
There's more than one kind butalso needs to be monitored.
So the other symptoms you mightsee are confusion, irritability
, depression, even seizures forsomeone who's got a deficiency
(12:37):
in B6.
So it's not as simple and also,actually you'll see, might see
elevated homocysteine, which isa marker for inflammation, so
elevated inflammation you mightsee in your system.
So when we look at the list ofsigns of toxicity again, like I
said, peripheral neuropathy isin both columns, so that can be
(12:58):
a sign and it's a common onethat people have.
But also some people have someskin issues with toxicity
dizziness, nausea, muscletwitches, bone pains, muscle
weakness, twitches, bone pains,muscle weakness and that's the
(13:21):
thing too is that my symptomthat I get isn't even listed
there.
I just know that I've had ittwice and both times had this
kind of hypervigilance, kind ofthat's happened.
The other thing too is that youcan have what's called ataxia,
which is like poor musclecontrol, so clumsy movements,
and of course these symptoms canbe caused by many things, so
you can't just assume that it'sbeen caused by B6 toxicity.
(13:44):
So I suppose ultimately whatI'm trying to say is this stuff
is complicated and that's whyyou see a practitioner.
Now, the other thing, too is inregards to what you might find
B6 in.
A lot of people are taking itbecause it's in your multi.
It's usually in a multi, it'susually in like a B complex.
(14:06):
It might be in shakes thatyou're having, it might be in a
weight loss supplement thatyou're taking, it might be in an
energy drink that you're having, and so that's where it can
build up as well, right?
Because if you're doing anenergy drink and like some B
vitamins and you're doing amulti, you might be taking 100
milligrams a day and don'trealize that you're doing this,
(14:28):
right?
Which is again also why you seea practitioner and why we ask
you everything you're taking,because if we know what you're
taking taking, we take that intoaccount.
Or we might say it's not a goodidea or whatever it is, but
it's important you understandwhat you're taking.
We need to know what dose areyou taking of different things
so we know if it's too much, weknow what to prescribe or we
(14:50):
know what not to prescribe.
Now that's why you know it isreally important to get someone
like me to help you.
So the other thing and, like Isaid, it's just a blood test to
sort of figure out if you have adeficiency, and I just want to
just do something else here aswell.
So look, essentially what itwas saying in the data is like.
(15:17):
The data is just says this maybe an issue and for some people,
if you take it for long enough,it may be permanent Some of
those symptoms, like theirperipheral neuropathy.
The other thing I would say inregards to supplements is it's
really really commonly inmagnesium supplements because
they're all being used forsimilar things.
(15:38):
So magnesium supplements areoften being used for the blood
sugar regulation or all of thethings I mentioned before, all
of the deficiencies.
So B6 and magnesium work reallywell together, and so a lot of
magnesium powders and magnesiumsupplements contain B6.
And this is one of the reasonswhy, if you've ever been a
(16:01):
client of mine, often I willstart my clients on a powder or
a tablet or something that hasB6 in it and it might have other
nutrients in there as well,because I'm aiming to get a
certain result, aiming to buildup a certain level of nutrition.
But then often what I do is Itake them off, the powder or the
tablet or whatever, and I putthem on a capsule.
(16:22):
That is just magnesium andthere's a reasoning behind this.
Especially if it's likelong-term and someone I'm not
going to see for a while is okay, well, I don't think you need
to take all of the thingsanymore, but magnesium is really
useful to you.
So let's put you on anappropriate dose of magnesium,
(16:42):
but just on its own, and let'sjust do that longer term,
because then I'll feel safe thatyou will be okay.
So that's the sort ofconsideration that I make when I
am talking to people aboutsupplements.
So, yeah, I think I've prettymuch covered it as much as you
need to know.
But essentially, these signs andsymptoms, whether it be of
deficiency or of too much, canbe caused by other things.
(17:07):
So it's not always a problemwith B6.
B6 isn't evil and bad andshouldn't be used, or anything
like that.
B6 isn't evil and bad andshouldn't be used, or anything
like that.
It's really just about makingsure that it's used
appropriately, the right doseand for the right length of time
and when someone needs it.
Now, the other thing that mightmean that you're more likely to
(17:29):
need vitamin B6 would be, say,people on contraception, because
contraception often causes Bvitamin deficiencies.
Smokers, people basically whodrink a lot of alcohol, patients
, with celiac disease anddiabetes.
So these are all the kind ofpeople who are more likely to
have a deficiency in B6 andmight benefit from taking B6,
(17:52):
whereas not everyone needs totake it.
So that's again what we takeinto consideration.
Do you actually need to take B6?
But it is really important.
Look, it's in meats and it's inthings like turkey and chicken
and fish, legumes, and it's insome cereals and vegetables and
(18:14):
bananas in a lot of differentplaces and often, because it's
in so many different foods,often people will have plenty in
their system.
So it's often more aboutdiseases of where you're not
getting an absorption, likeceliac disease, or diseases
where there's a known likemedications that will cause a
(18:35):
deficiency, or diseases wherethere's a known like medications
that will cause a deficiency,or diseases that maybe there's
certain things that your bodyuses up more B6 than somebody
else and so you need to havemore, higher intake than
somebody else.
So, anyway, I won't continue onbecause it'll just get boring
after a while, I'm sure, but Ijust want you to understand.
(18:57):
So when these things come up inthe news, sometimes people get
frightened off and it's like, oh, I shouldn't take it.
Or they ignore it and say, oh,it's just news, kind of carrying
on.
There are issues withsupplements.
They can have and I have hadgreat success using supplements
with my clients, getting really,really great results for people
(19:20):
.
Sometimes you can end up with atoxicity amount or you can end
up with a, a symptom or areaction or something that is
not pleasant or not good.
That's why you see apractitioner and that's why we
work closely with people to getto do the right thing for that
person.
So B6 deficiency is not to beignored, but B6 toxicity is also
(19:45):
not to be ignored, and both canhappen, which is why we always
need to have an assessment ofwhat is going on for you.
Or is there something else goingon completely different that is
causing your symptoms?
But I would.
That's again why I just sort ofsay don't just go and buy.
You know you have your Bvitamins and your multi and you
might be taking a shake like aprotein shake that's also got B6
(20:08):
in it and it's so common andit'll be in things like stress
formulas and things like that,and it's not hard.
It would not be hard for you toend up being on 100, 125
milligrams of B6 a day, which isway too much for the majority
of people.
It would not be hard to do thatif you're kind of just taking
(20:29):
those kinds of things Reallycommon and it's really easy to
do by just getting stuff fromthe pharmacy or from a
supermarket.
So please don't do that.
Please get the right advice andif you're having those symptoms
and please investigate it.
If you're taking B6, stop takingthe B6 while you're
investigating it and just pleasebe careful with these things.
(20:51):
Like everything, it's the sameas water.
It's all about the dosage,right.
So things can be the greatestmedicine or the greatest poison.
It depends on the dosage.
It depends on that person'sneed.
So just be really, reallycareful and get the right advice
and don't assume thatsupplements are benign.
(21:11):
They're not, but that's alsowhy they're helpful, because
they actually do do something.
You just want them to be doingthe right thing for you.
So anyway, I will leave it atthat.
Please like, subscribe andshare, and if you need any help,
you can book in a consultationwith me at informedhealthcomau.
(21:33):
Also, please rate this show.
The more ratings I get, themore people will find out about
me and find out about theWellness Connection.
This is where I like to havereal conversations about things
that matter.
So I hope you have a great week.
I'll talk to you again nextweek.
Thank you, bye.
Hello and welcome to the Wellness Connection Podcast
.
I'm your host, Fiona Kane.
Today I'm going to be talkingabout something that's in the
news a little bit lately well,in Australia it is anyway and
that's vitamin B6.
It's in the news because thereare some people talking about
having too much in their systemand it causing health issues,
(00:23):
and I want to address thatbecause it's an important topic,
especially now, because one ofthe things I talk about quite a
lot and one of the reasons I saybook in and see me or book in
and see a qualified practitioner, is for this exact reason, and
I'll explain to you in a moment.
We are trained in how toidentify deficiencies, how to
(00:45):
identify if someone's got toomuch of something, the test to
do those kinds of things.
We know what we're doing.
The problem is now that manypeople are buying all the
supplements from the supermarketor the health food store or
wherever it is, and they mightnot be getting the right advice.
But not only that, even if theyare getting the right advice,
for that time, what people tendto do is a set and forget thing.
(01:08):
So they get a vitamin ormineral and they just start
taking it, and they just take itfor the next five years,
whereas if you see a healthpractitioner, we will get you to
come back and we will reviewyour symptoms and we know what
to look for and know to look forcertain signs and symptoms.
I did a whole episode aboutsupplements and I will actually
link that on YouTube.
(01:28):
I'll link it as like the nextvideo, so otherwise you can go
to my podcast and look for itabout supplements Anyway.
So I want to talk to you alittle bit about vitamin B6 and
about some of the issues here.
So first of all, it's importantto so I'm just referring to my
notes.
It's easier if the notes are infront of me, so for those
(01:49):
watching, sorry if I'm notlooking at the camera.
So vitamin B6 is awater-soluble vitamin, which is
what makes people think that youjust wear it out if you have
too much and you can't end upwith too much, but you can.
You can end up with too much,but you can.
You can end up with too much inyour system.
It can build up in your system.
Now it does many things,including it helps metabolize
(02:13):
proteins, carbs and fats, sobasically metabolize your food.
It's involved in energymetabolism, immune function,
cognitive function, makesneurotransmitters in your brain.
Cognitive function makesneurotransmitters in your brain.
It's part of how you makeneurotransmitters to make
hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin is the protein inyour red blood cells that is
(02:33):
responsible for deliveringoxygen to the tissue around your
body.
B6 is very important.
It plays a really, reallyimportant role Now sometimes and
pyridoxine hydrochloride is themost common form that you'll
see in supplements and that kindof thing.
(02:58):
Now, they've been looking atthis and they've been monitoring
this and there's no perfectanswer for how much is too much,
because it's different indifferent people.
Generally speaking, whatthey're seeing is these symptoms
, which I'll explain to you whatthe symptoms are in a moment,
but they're associated with highdoses of 100 to 500 milligrams
(03:19):
daily.
Now, most people will only betaking if you're taking one
supplement, there might be 25milligrams or something in that.
Now, in my situation, mepersonally, I've twice sort of
got myself overdosed I supposeis the word on B6, just
personally me, and that's onquite small doses.
(03:40):
So for me, I can just be taking25 milligrams and it's too much
for me, right?
So there's not an exact number.
It's just about treating theindividual, which is why we
always look at treating theindividual.
But, generally speaking in thereports that they're seeing the
high doses it's like over 100milligram is where they're
(04:01):
seeing these symptoms.
Now there's two main symptomsthat I have seen in clinical
practice and in myself.
So in the 18 years I've beenpracticing, I have twice seen
people start to show symptoms ofhaving too much B6.
In both cases I stopped themfrom taking it and I sent them
(04:23):
to their GP in Australia, that'syour local doctor for a blood
test to just check the levels sothat we could rule in or rule
out whether the B6 was the causeof their symptoms.
Now, both of those patients,they both had numbness and
tingling and some pain.
(04:45):
So essentially, the commonsymptom is peripheral neuropathy
, and that's kind of thesymptoms you get, and it's
usually in your hands and feet.
So it's kind of numbness,tingling, pain, just sort of
strange symptoms.
It could be burning as well inyour hands and feet, and for me,
(05:05):
though, the symptom was quitedifferent.
So I didn't get that when I hadtoo much in my system and I had
.
When I look at my blood testresults, I had just as much as
my clients did and my symptomwas anxiety, but it was like a
different.
So it was, I was really overthe top with, okay, I've got to
(05:29):
do this, got to do this, got todo that, got to do, and I
couldn't turn it off and youknow so before I could go to go
to bed.
But then I'd have thischecklist of a dishwasher and
not that, like, of course, mostwomen will relate to having the
checklist.
So we all have that to anextent.
But this was kind of onoverdrive.
So I just as overdrive thing ofthose checklists and double
(05:49):
checking where I was at, doublechecking what I was doing and
getting things ticked off thelist.
Excuse me, for a moment, I justhad to cough.
I saved you from having tolisten to it.
Sorry about that.
So yeah, so mine was kind of ahypervigilance type anxiety
that's the symptom I got.
And so when it came back thesecond time, I recognized it and
(06:10):
I was quite surprised because Ididn't think I was taking much
B6, but I had another look and Iwas taking a really small
amount.
But for me a really smallamount was enough.
And I'm trying to think if Iremember it was 15 or 25, but it
was a low dose.
But that was just too much forme, right?
Whereas most people they couldhappily tolerate that dosage.
So, with my clients, we justtook them off.
(06:33):
The supplement and the symptomsyou know in most cases, and
especially if you pick this upreally early on, which is why
you go back and see yourpractitioner, it's why you
return.
People don't understand thevalue of returning.
They honestly think supplementsare set and forget.
Medications are also not setand forget, like if your doctor
prescribes medications.
They want you to come back inso many weeks, so many months,
(06:54):
whatever it is, so that they canassess, you know, is the
medication working?
Is it affecting your liver, isit causing a problem?
You know they'll do a bloodtest to make sure your kidneys,
liver, function, you know.
So it's the same withsupplements, right?
So it's not set and forget.
You get advice from a personwho knows what they're talking
about and you go back and youtalk to them about symptoms and
(07:15):
you talk to them about is ithelping with the symptoms that
you're taking it for or with theissue that you're taking it for
?
Is it causing new symptoms?
What's going on?
And peripheral neuropathy can becaused by many things.
It is a common symptom withpeople with diabetes.
Neuropathy can be caused bymany things is a common symptom
with people with diabetes and soyou can't just like make the
assumption that I'm taking B6,that's why I have this symptom.
(07:37):
But if you are taking B6 andyou're getting this symptom,
then it is worth stopping the B6and assessing and, like I said,
your doctor can do a simpleblood test just to see your
levels of B6 and you can workout whether that's causing the
problem or obviously look intoother causes, other reasons why
you might be having thesesymptoms, because it might be
some other neurological thing.
(07:58):
So I'm not saying the symptommeans you have an overdone,
overdose, whatever it just couldbe, which is why you have to be
aware of it and practitionerswill kind of have their ear out
and kind of be looking for thesekind.
You have to be aware of it andpractitioners will kind of have
their ear out and kind of belooking for these kind of people
.
To say this the same as a GPknows what symptoms a medication
(08:20):
causes, well we know whatsymptoms that you might get from
a supplement.
So we'll not only be lookingfor the good things about what
the supplement might be doing,but we'll also be looking to
make sure it's not doinganything wrong or it's not
causing any problems, all right.
So there's no such thing, youknow, because people again, I
said this in my last one when Italked about supplements but
(08:41):
people always assume thatsupplements are safe.
And the problem is that thepeople who are, you know, the
sort of people who are againstsupplements say it's expensive,
urine, blah, blah, blah, they'rea waste of money.
Well, the problem is, if yousay that they're benign, then
that means they can't cause aproblem, right.
(09:01):
And they can cause a problem ifthey're not benign, right.
Which is also why they dosomething good, the same as
medications, right?
So medications can do somewonderful things for your body
and they can also do some nastythings.
Well, supplements are the same.
They can do some wonderfulthings, but they're not benign
(09:23):
and they can cause some problems.
And that is why you havesomeone who knows how to
prescribe it for you and monitorit for you, so that you know
that you're okay and that youknow that you're in safe hands.
And I would just say, if youstart getting any new symptom
after you start taking anything,whether it be a medication,
(09:45):
whether it be a supplement,investigate it right, because it
can be the thing you're taking.
I've had allergic reactions toboth medications and supplements
.
So if you start taking asupplement or a medication and
you come out on spots, stoptaking it and talk to your
practitioner.
Or if it's a medication thatyou're not supposed to, just
(10:05):
stop Talk to your doctor as soonas possible, go to the
emergency, whatever better, butyou're probably best to go off
it as quickly as possible, aslong as it's safe to do so,
because the longer you stay onit, the more of an allergic
reaction you're going to haveright?
So just don't see these thingsas benign.
See these things as things thatcan be really helpful, but
they're not benign.
(10:25):
Now I'm just going to talk toyou a little bit more about the
B6.
So the issue with B6 as welland this goes for a lot of
supplements is that sometimesthe sign of deficiency and the
sign of toxicity are the samething.
(10:46):
So deficiency in B6 can looklike things like dermatitis or
red rashes.
It can look like anemia, it canlook like weakness, being
sleepless, having fatigue,peripheral neuropathy, like I
said Actually, no peripheralneuropathy, right See, here is
not the issue.
So peripheral neuropathy is asign of deficiency and it's also
(11:10):
a sign of toxicity.
You don't know which it is.
So, rather than going blind,that's why we need to assess
these things and that's why itcan be really, really useful,
because someone who is actuallyexperiencing a deficiency of B6
and having peripheral neuropathyfor that reason, the B6 is
actually a really great thingfor them.
So it's not sort of as simple,as no one should ever take it.
(11:32):
It's all bad.
It's about what you need andit's about looking at these
symptoms and looking at theindividual.
So the other thing is that kindof either a swollen tongue or
you might find like have cracksin the corner of your lips.
Now, some of these symptomsrelate to other B vitamins and
relate to other nutrients, soit's not just like everyone
(11:54):
who's got this symptom has thisdeficiency.
It's not as simple as that, butthese are just some signs and
symptoms that you might havethis issue.
Also, b6 is involved in bloodsugar regulation, so if you're
not going to control your bloodsugar levels very well, a B6
deficiency might be part of thatAgain, which is why B6 can be
(12:15):
really, really useful, becauseif someone isn't managing their
blood glucose levels, it'sreally important that in that
case that they might take it,but needs to have the right dose
and maybe the right kind.
There's more than one kind butalso needs to be monitored.
So the other symptoms you mightsee are confusion, irritability
, depression, even seizures forsomeone who's got a deficiency
(12:37):
in B6.
So it's not as simple and also,actually you'll see, might see
elevated homocysteine, which isa marker for inflammation, so
elevated inflammation you mightsee in your system.
So when we look at the list ofsigns of toxicity again, like I
said, peripheral neuropathy isin both columns, so that can be
(12:58):
a sign and it's a common onethat people have.
But also some people have someskin issues with toxicity
dizziness, nausea, muscletwitches, bone pains, muscle
weakness, twitches, bone pains,muscle weakness and that's the
(13:21):
thing too is that my symptomthat I get isn't even listed
there.
I just know that I've had ittwice and both times had this
kind of hypervigilance, kind ofthat's happened.
The other thing too is that youcan have what's called ataxia,
which is like poor musclecontrol, so clumsy movements,
and of course these symptoms canbe caused by many things, so
you can't just assume that it'sbeen caused by B6 toxicity.
(13:44):
So I suppose ultimately whatI'm trying to say is this stuff
is complicated and that's whyyou see a practitioner.
Now, the other thing, too is inregards to what you might find
B6 in.
A lot of people are taking itbecause it's in your multi.
It's usually in a multi, it'susually in like a B complex.
(14:06):
It might be in shakes thatyou're having, it might be in a
weight loss supplement thatyou're taking, it might be in an
energy drink that you're having, and so that's where it can
build up as well, right?
Because if you're doing anenergy drink and like some B
vitamins and you're doing amulti, you might be taking 100
milligrams a day and don'trealize that you're doing this,
(14:28):
right?
Which is again also why you seea practitioner and why we ask
you everything you're taking,because if we know what you're
taking taking, we take that intoaccount.
Or we might say it's not a goodidea or whatever it is, but
it's important you understandwhat you're taking.
We need to know what dose areyou taking of different things
so we know if it's too much, weknow what to prescribe or we
(14:50):
know what not to prescribe.
Now that's why you know it isreally important to get someone
like me to help you.
So the other thing and, like Isaid, it's just a blood test to
sort of figure out if you have adeficiency, and I just want to
just do something else here aswell.
So look, essentially what itwas saying in the data is like.
(15:17):
The data is just says this maybe an issue and for some people,
if you take it for long enough,it may be permanent Some of
those symptoms, like theirperipheral neuropathy.
The other thing I would say inregards to supplements is it's
really really commonly inmagnesium supplements because
they're all being used forsimilar things.
(15:38):
So magnesium supplements areoften being used for the blood
sugar regulation or all of thethings I mentioned before, all
of the deficiencies.
So B6 and magnesium work reallywell together, and so a lot of
magnesium powders and magnesiumsupplements contain B6.
And this is one of the reasonswhy, if you've ever been a
(16:01):
client of mine, often I willstart my clients on a powder or
a tablet or something that hasB6 in it and it might have other
nutrients in there as well,because I'm aiming to get a
certain result, aiming to buildup a certain level of nutrition.
But then often what I do is Itake them off, the powder or the
tablet or whatever, and I putthem on a capsule.
(16:22):
That is just magnesium andthere's a reasoning behind this.
Especially if it's likelong-term and someone I'm not
going to see for a while is okay, well, I don't think you need
to take all of the thingsanymore, but magnesium is really
useful to you.
So let's put you on anappropriate dose of magnesium,
(16:42):
but just on its own, and let'sjust do that longer term,
because then I'll feel safe thatyou will be okay.
So that's the sort ofconsideration that I make when I
am talking to people aboutsupplements.
So, yeah, I think I've prettymuch covered it as much as you
need to know.
But essentially, these signs andsymptoms, whether it be of
deficiency or of too much, canbe caused by other things.
(17:07):
So it's not always a problemwith B6.
B6 isn't evil and bad andshouldn't be used, or anything
like that.
B6 isn't evil and bad andshouldn't be used, or anything
like that.
It's really just about makingsure that it's used
appropriately, the right doseand for the right length of time
and when someone needs it.
Now, the other thing that mightmean that you're more likely to
(17:29):
need vitamin B6 would be, say,people on contraception, because
contraception often causes Bvitamin deficiencies.
Smokers, people basically whodrink a lot of alcohol, patients
, with celiac disease anddiabetes.
So these are all the kind ofpeople who are more likely to
have a deficiency in B6 andmight benefit from taking B6,
(17:52):
whereas not everyone needs totake it.
So that's again what we takeinto consideration.
Do you actually need to take B6?
But it is really important.
Look, it's in meats and it's inthings like turkey and chicken
and fish, legumes, and it's insome cereals and vegetables and
(18:14):
bananas in a lot of differentplaces and often, because it's
in so many different foods,often people will have plenty in
their system.
So it's often more aboutdiseases of where you're not
getting an absorption, likeceliac disease, or diseases
where there's a known likemedications that will cause a
(18:35):
deficiency, or diseases wherethere's a known like medications
that will cause a deficiency,or diseases that maybe there's
certain things that your bodyuses up more B6 than somebody
else and so you need to havemore, higher intake than
somebody else.
So, anyway, I won't continue onbecause it'll just get boring
after a while, I'm sure, but Ijust want you to understand.
(18:57):
So when these things come up inthe news, sometimes people get
frightened off and it's like, oh, I shouldn't take it.
Or they ignore it and say, oh,it's just news, kind of carrying
on.
There are issues withsupplements.
They can have and I have hadgreat success using supplements
with my clients, getting really,really great results for people
(19:20):
.
Sometimes you can end up with atoxicity amount or you can end
up with a, a symptom or areaction or something that is
not pleasant or not good.
That's why you see apractitioner and that's why we
work closely with people to getto do the right thing for that
person.
So B6 deficiency is not to beignored, but B6 toxicity is also
(19:45):
not to be ignored, and both canhappen, which is why we always
need to have an assessment ofwhat is going on for you.
Or is there something else goingon completely different that is
causing your symptoms?
But I would.
That's again why I just sort ofsay don't just go and buy.
You know you have your Bvitamins and your multi and you
might be taking a shake like aprotein shake that's also got B6
(20:08):
in it and it's so common andit'll be in things like stress
formulas and things like that,and it's not hard.
It would not be hard for you toend up being on 100, 125
milligrams of B6 a day, which isway too much for the majority
of people.
It would not be hard to do thatif you're kind of just taking
(20:29):
those kinds of things Reallycommon and it's really easy to
do by just getting stuff fromthe pharmacy or from a
supermarket.
So please don't do that.
Please get the right advice andif you're having those symptoms
and please investigate it.
If you're taking B6, stop takingthe B6 while you're
investigating it and just pleasebe careful with these things.
(20:51):
Like everything, it's the sameas water.
It's all about the dosage,right.
So things can be the greatestmedicine or the greatest poison.
It depends on the dosage.
It depends on that person'sneed.
So just be really, reallycareful and get the right advice
and don't assume thatsupplements are benign.
(21:11):
They're not, but that's alsowhy they're helpful, because
they actually do do something.
You just want them to be doingthe right thing for you.
So anyway, I will leave it atthat.
Please like, subscribe andshare, and if you need any help,
you can book in a consultationwith me at informedhealthcomau.
(21:33):
Also, please rate this show.
The more ratings I get, themore people will find out about
me and find out about theWellness Connection.
This is where I like to havereal conversations about things
that matter.
So I hope you have a great week.
I'll talk to you again nextweek.
Thank you, bye.
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