Micronutrients
The vitamin that reliably causes harm: at supplement doses pyridoxine causes a sensory neuropathy that is regularly missed for months.
Not yet investigated
The vitamin that reliably causes harm: at supplement doses pyridoxine causes a sensory neuropathy that is regularly missed for months.
This star is on the map because the show intends to take the question apart properly — the trials, how it is actually tested, whether the thing sold is the thing studied. That work is not done yet, and nothing here should be read as a conclusion. When the investigation is published it will appear on this page.
What we are reading
Gathered for the investigation and not yet written up. Each note says what the paper does and does not show.
The most direct support in this whole set for the 'synthetic form can harm you' argument, and it is specific rather than sweeping. B6 is six vitamers; only pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) is biologically active. The author states the therapeutic index is NARROW, that supraphysiologic daily dosing risks neurotoxicity above roughly 100 nmol/L, and that PLP-based supplements are PREFERRED OVER PYRIDOXINE because pyridoxine showed more neurotoxicity in neuronal viability testing. Because B6 metabolites are long-lived he recommends WEEKLY 50–100 mg rather than daily. Note the honest hedge the episode must keep: the author also says the pyridoxine–neuropathy association 'is not well established'.
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Also in Micronutrients
The letter
The full citation list for each investigation, the studies that didn't make the episode, and any corrections — sent the morning it publishes.
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