Vitamin B6 – Pyridoxine

Optimal dose 45 mg/day

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) serves many critical functions, including enhancing immune function and possibly decreasing the risk of heart disease and colon cancer.

Those with fluid retention benefit from vitamin B6 at a dose of about 200-250 mg/day — especially if you also optimize thyroid hormone levels. This has implications way beyond your rings being too tight. For example, B6 250 mg/day is very helpful at alleviating carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Although I have seen no studies on thyroid therapy in CTS, all of my patients who have taken B6, thyroid hormone, and a night-time "cock-up" wrist splint and do not have continuing repetitive stress injury have had their CTS go away without surgery in less than 3 months. Long term use of doses over 500 mg/day may cause nerve problems (limit to 250 mg/day unless a clear reason to go higher).

More Information Online

Nutritional primer

We have a 20,000 word primer on nutrition at our website that provides more detail with study references on each nutrient. Click here to visit the "Vitamin B6" section of our primer.