Vitamin B6 for Nerve Pain
Vitamin B6 is vital in the manufacturing of red blood cells and can help prevent heart attacks and even some birth defects. Along with the other B vitamins, it processes the body's amino acids. It also is used with other B vitamins to treat chronic back pain.
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Facts
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Neuropathic, or nerve, pain affects roughly 86 million Americans every year. While some cases of chronic pain can be relieved by anticonvulsants and different pain relievers, other cases are not affected by these. In early 2003, a study performed by Dr. Xuejun Song (see "Research") and released by the American Physiological Society showed that a vitamin B regimen can bring relief to chronic nerve-related pain in less than an hour.
Causes
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Nerve pain can result from erratic movement, strain or stress as well as from diabetes or surgery. It occurs when nerve fibers are injured and begin transmitting the wrong signals to other internal pain centers.
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Research
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Xuejun Song, M.D., Ph.D. at Parker College Research Institute in Dallas, experimented with vitamins B1, B6 and B12 on laboratory rats whose lumbar nerves were compressed to replicate human back pain. He expected a reduction in their pain within a few weeks or months. Instead, the vitamins reduced the pain within 30 to 60 minutes, with the effects lasting up to 12 hours.
While vitamin B6 proved to alleviate some of the pain, B1 and B12 added to the remedial effect.
Benefits and Risks
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Taking vitamin B6 on a regular basis reduces pain on a longer term. The amount of B6 that you can take daily without adverse effects is 100 milligrams. According to the National Institute of Health, taking more than that per day can result in nerve damage to your arms or legs.
Vitamin B6 Foods
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To gain the benefits of vitamin B6 and help reduce chronic nerve pain, add beans, green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, bananas, fish such as cod, potatoes, avocados and watermelon to your daily diet.
Considerations
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If you have debilitating nerve pain, contact your doctor; he can diagnose the cause and recommend proper therapy. Antibiotics and diuretics can deplete the body of vitamin B. If your doctor has prescribed either of these, ask him to recommend a safe dosage of vitamin B for you.
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