After a recent study published in Human Psychopharmacology, the vitamin B6 has already been baptized there anti-anxiety vitamin. Not only. It also appears to have properties antidepressants. There is only one problem: the study that highlighted the benefits, both compared to placebo and after a comparison with vitamin B12, shows that the dosage used is 50 times higher than normal. It is therefore certainly impossible to think of supplementing one’s vitamin intake in this way. Furthermore, the researchers did not observe the effects of such a prolonged overdose but nevertheless gave interesting indications. First, it is useful to explore the properties of this vitamin since it involves i neurotransmitters which are the chemical messengers used by the nervous system.
It is found in numerous foods: in meats, especially white ones, and in fish, whole grains (wheat flour, oatmeal and brown rice), spinach, cauliflower, green beans, potatoes and legumes such as chickpeas and lentils. Also in fruit, excluding citrus fruits.
“Recent theories have linked mood disorders and other neuropsychiatric conditions to an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters – said the first author. David Field of the University of Reading. Vitamin B6 increases the production of GABA (amino gamma butyric acid) which inhibits the excess of excitatory neurotransmitters ”.
I study
478 young adults were recruited. The group was randomized to receive 50 times the recommended dose of vitamin B6 or vitamin B12 or placebo once daily. The study showed that B12 had little effect compared to placebo but for B6 there would be statistically significant differences. Significant levels of GABA as well as antidepressant effects were found among the participants who took the anti-anxiety vitamin.
But that is not all. B6 is involved in other pathways that can modulate the excitation of the nervous system, it is a coenzyme that favors the production of neutransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline. It also plays a role in the homocysteine cycle, an amino acid precursor of various body functions, such as the formation of skin and hair. Homocysteine itself reduces the levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate by converting it into glutathionewhich is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants produced by the liver.
A question of balance
With low homocysteine, the body is no longer able to produce glutathione which is able to protect us from free radicals. But be careful: high homocysteine is a wake-up call for some diseases.
If the body can no longer produce glutathione, the nerves become particularly susceptible to oxidation and can be damaged. Glutathione deficiencies have been found in severe forms of systemic inflammation from Covid-19.
To conclude
The authors concluded by reiterating that this research represents a beginning, and that one way to seek mental well-being is certainly to study a type of diet that has effects on anxiety and depression, “precisely because nutrition does not have the effects side effects of anxiolytic and anti-depressant drugs “. In this regard, scholars have spoken of nutritional psychiatry.