Why Pyridoxine May Be The Most Vital of All The B Complex Vitamins
 Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, has been known to medical science since the 1930s, and like the other B complex vitamins performs numerous functions which are essential for human health. A regular supply must be ensured from the diet because the vitamin can be neither synthesized nor stored in the body. Vitamin B6 has probably attracted most attention from medical researchers and nutritional therapists as a means of reducing blood homocysteine levels, because an excess build up of this compound is well established as an indicator of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. One European research project, for example, reported in 1997 that the risk was more than doubled in subjects who showed levels of blood homocysteine in the top 20% of the range revealed by the tests. Vitamin B6 is known to operate together with vitamins B12 and folic acid to break down homcysteine into the harmless, and in fact beneficial, amino acids, methionine and cysteine; and the effect is potentially very significant. Some research in fact suggests that moderate supplementation with B6 may consequently reduce disease risk by as much as a third. But as important as this function of pyridoxine is, it's just one of the many health benefits it can offer; benefits which have led some practitioners to conclude that B6 may be the most vital of all the B complex vitamins. On a general level, vitamin B6 is vital for the body's production of prostaglandins, hormone type compounds which are responsible for the proper operation of so many of the body's vital functions, including the blood supply and respiratory system, that imbalances are suspected to be a major cause of ill-health. This is also essential for the functioning of at least 100 enzymes governing such biochemical reactions as the manufacture of necessary proteins, genetic matter and amino acids; and the digestion of dietary carbohydrates and fats. More specifically, good intakes of pyridoxine have been strongly linked to a robust immune system, particularly in older adults; whereas deficiencies appear to be directly correlated with a reduction the number of the body's T cells, the most vital for immune system function. |
