Do you feel low, easily irritated, or not quite like yourself? Vitamin B6 probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind, but it’s actually needed for the body to produce serotonin. So what happens if you don’t get enough, and how do you know whether your levels are sufficient?
Serotonin is found primarily in the gut, but the serotonin used for signaling in the brain needs to be produced there. Production takes place in several steps, and each step requires the right conditions—with B6 being one of these crucial prerequisites.
How B6 helps the body produce serotonin
It all starts with tryptophan, which you get when you eat protein. The body then converts tryptophan in several steps, ultimately producing serotonin. B6 comes into play in the final step, where the vitamin helps the body carry out the actual conversion into serotonin.
In other words, you can get the raw material for serotonin from food, but without enough B6, the body lacks one of the important factors needed to complete the process and actually produce serotonin.
B6 is also needed to produce other neurotransmitters, including dopamine and GABA. If you want to understand more about how B6 affects the brain, focus, and nervous system, you can read about it here.
What happens if the body gets too little B6?
Documented symptoms of very low B6 levels include:
- Depression
- Confusion
- Anemia
- Skin problems
- Cracks at the corners of the mouth
- Swollen tongue
- Weakened immune system
The fact that the body needs B6 to produce serotonin is well established—as is the fact that a pronounced deficiency can affect the nervous system. However, too little B6 does not automatically mean too little serotonin. Nor is it enough to simply base a conclusion on symptoms such as low mood, anxiety, or sleep problems to determine that you have a B6 deficiency.
Make sure your body has what it needs
Clinical B6 deficiency is relatively uncommon, but that doesn’t mean everyone gets an optimal amount of B6. There is a gray area in between, and both your needs and status can be affected by what and how much you eat, how much you exercise, and how well your body can absorb and metabolize B6.
For example, if you follow a restricted diet or exercise a lot while consuming little energy or eating an unvaried diet, it may be worth reviewing your intake.
B6 is found in foods such as:
- Meat
- Eggs
- Salmon
- Herring
- Chicken
- Lentils
- Potatoes
- Whole-grain products
- Wheat germ
- Leafy green vegetables
- Avocado
- Almonds
- Walnuts
-
Banana
Does more B6 mean that the body produces more serotonin?
No, not actually.
Just because the body needs B6 to produce serotonin doesn’t mean that production increases the more B6 you consume. Even if the body has enough B6, other factors can still have an impact, including the availability of tryptophan and how the various enzymes involved in the process function.
So even though B6 is a crucial component that the body cannot do without in this case, more is not automatically better. High doses of B6 from supplements taken over a longer period can damage the nerves, so taking large amounts “just to be safe” is not a good idea.
The point, then, is not to maximize the amount of B6, but to make sure the body has enough. When the raw materials and nutrients are in place, the body is also better equipped to produce serotonin as it should.
