# Vitamin B6

Category: Vitamins & Minerals

Also known as: pyridoxine, P5P

Vitamin B6 is a required cofactor for the synthesis of dopamine, serotonin, and GABA, and its active form, pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P), simultaneously lowers the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate by converting it into GABA. Peat observed that vitamin B6 is effective for…

11 passages · 3 authors · 2012–2026 · Most-cited: [Georgi Dinkov](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/voices/georgi-dinkov/index.md)

Canonical page: https://bioenergeticoracle.com/concepts/vitamin-b6

## Synthesis

**Vitamin B6** is a required cofactor for the synthesis of dopamine, serotonin, and GABA, and its active form, **pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P)**, simultaneously lowers the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate by converting it into GABA. [Source 2] Peat observed that vitamin B6 is effective for many problems related to the distribution of salts and water, recounting how a single 10 mg dose of pyridoxine hydrochloride stopped intractable diarrhea in a dying child within an hour when a hospital’s intravenous treatments had failed. [Source 5, 8] Roddy notes that high amounts of tryptophan and estrogen suppress vitamin B6, disabling its *pro-dopamine, anti-prolactin effects*, while adequate B6 facilitates amino acid utilization, supports the liver, and helps regulate glycogen. [Source 4]

A central practical distinction exists between the inexpensive precursor **pyridoxine hydrochloride** and the active coenzyme **P5P**. Peat warned that it is possible to overdose with either form, but people are finding the active form easier to overdose with; he saw 10 to 20 mg as almost always all a person needs therapeutically, far beyond the normal daily requirement. [Source 1] Dinkov has written that the neuropathy side effect associated with high-dose B6 stems specifically from the failure to convert pyridoxine hydrochloride into P5P, and that P5P itself does not carry this neurotoxic risk. [Source 6, 11] He estimates that P5P has roughly ten times the potency of the standard form, making 5–10 mg of P5P a practical daily dose for most people. [Source 3, 11]

Mechanistically, Dinkov positions vitamin B6 as the most potent endogenous, non-steroidal **glucocorticoid antagonist**, which explains its anticatabolic and muscle-protective actions. [Source 3] By reducing cortisol signaling, B6 shifts the balance from muscle breakdown toward repair and regeneration, and it has been shown to inhibit **myostatin** expression by about 25–30% while increasing proteins responsible for muscle growth and differentiation. [Source 3, 10] This anabolic profile makes it relevant for counteracting the sarcopenic effects of drugs like metformin and GLP-1 agonists. [Source 3] Dinkov also highlights that a simple deficiency of activated B6 is sufficient to cause full-blown type II diabetes in animals by suppressing mitochondrial function, and that restoring P5P levels may reverse some cases, lending mechanistic support to Peat’s story of his father curing diabetes with Brewer’s yeast. [Source 6]

Peat generally did not recommend supplements because foods can provide the vitamins and supplements are always contaminated to some extent in manufacturing, though in extreme cases he recommended small doses of pyridoxine hydrochloride which worked immediately and very well. [Source 5] He dismissed claims that pyridoxine hydrochloride inhibits or depletes P5P activity as marketing rhetoric. [Source 5] Dinkov, while agreeing on the superiority of food sources, has formulated supplements with P5P at doses consistent with Peat’s therapeutic range, noting that some B vitamins including B6 are stored long-term in tissues. [Source 9] Both caution that forum discussions often amplify corporate slander and poorly supported claims about nutrient depletion, and that the purity of individual supplements remains a real issue. [Source 5, 7]

## People also ask

### How does vitamin B6 act as a glucocorticoid antagonist?

Dinkov positioned vitamin B6 as a potent endogenous, non-steroidal glucocorticoid antagonist, meaning it reduces cortisol signaling to shift the body from muscle breakdown toward repair and regeneration.

### Why might P5P be preferred over standard pyridoxine hydrochloride?

Dinkov argued that the neuropathy risk from high-dose B6 comes from a failure to convert pyridoxine hydrochloride into P5P, and that P5P itself does not carry this neurotoxic risk while being roughly ten times more potent.

### What dose of vitamin B6 did Peat consider therapeutic?

Peat saw 10 to 20 mg as almost always all a person needs therapeutically, far beyond the normal daily requirement, though he cautioned that it is possible to overdose with either form.

## Related concepts

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- [Arachidonic Acid](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/arachidonic-acid/index.md)
- [ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/atp-adenosine-triphosphate/index.md)
- [Beef](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/beef/index.md)
- [Cortisol](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/cortisol/index.md)

## Cited passages

Passage numbers match the `[Source N]` markers in the synthesis above.

### Source 1 — Diabetes II and How to Restore and Protect Nerves KMUD 2014

Ray Peat · Interview · 2014 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj4ewp2YH1k

> **Caller:** Does niacinamide need to be balanced out with any other B vitamin or other supplement?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Thiamine, vitamin B1 works with the respiratory enzymes. And of course you need all of them: B12, B1 and biotin are very closely involved with the respiratory apparatus.
>
> **Caller:** You’ve discussed many times in your articles and interviews about the benefits of vitamin B6. And some people have found that they do better with the active form “P-5-P” (or PLP: Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate ). And, I was wondering if, aside from trial and error), there’s any other indicators or history that a person may find that they need the active form, as opposed to the typical form.
>
> **Ray Peat:** With either form of vitamin B6, it’s possible to overdose. I think people are finding that the active form is easier to overdose with; it used to take several hundred mg several months to produce toxic effects on the nerves; but some people are seeing that with as little as 50mg over a prolonged time with the active form. I think it’s good to start with 10mg which is far beyond the normal day’s requirement. 10 to 20 mg is almost always all a person needs therapeutically of B6.

### Source 2 — Human study – vitamin B6 may relieve anxiety and depression

Georgi Dinkov · Article · Nov 16, 2022 · https://haidut.me/?p=2056

> Vitamin B6 is perhaps one of the most underrated B vitamins. While it attracted a lot of interest in the 1960s and 1970s as a potential natural treatment to raise dopamine and/or lower prolactin, subsequent “well-controlled” studies claimed that it was not effective. However, the fact remains that vitamin B6, as its “active” metabolite pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P), is a required cofactor for the synthesis of all three members of what I call the “Holly Trinity” of neurotransmitters – serotonin, dopamine and GABA – and the synthesis of GABA with P5P occurs by consuming (and thus lowering) another important neurotransmitter known as glutamate. If there is one thing modern medicine gets right it is that there is no neurological/psychiatric condition where at least one of those neurotransmitters is not dysregulated. The most common psychiatric conditions are anxiety and (unipolar) depression, and GABA/glutamate are known to play a major role in both of them – GABA is low and/or glutamate is high in these conditions. As such, drugs that act as GABA agonists (Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, etc) are “standard of care” for treating anxiety, while glutamate antagonists class of drugs is one of the most promising new candidates for treating depression. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a substance capable of beneficially affecting both pathways, and without the severe side effects associated with the pharma drugs mentioned above? Well, vitamin B6 (P5P) is exactly such a substance since, as explained above, it increases GABA levels while also lowering glutamate levels by helping convert glutamate into GABA. Simple, right? Well, despite the obviousness of vitamin B6 potential and the numerous older studies confirming its benefit in both animal models and human studies, mainstream medicine continues to claim that vitamin B6 is ineffective for any mental/neurological condition. The study below may change that attitude, as it demonstrates the administration of 100mg pyridoxine Hcl (which converts into P5P) for just 30 days was effective in relieving both anxiety and depression in humans, and without causing any serious side effects.

### Source 3 — Vitamin B6 has anabolic effects on muscle

Georgi Dinkov · Article · Dec 8, 2024 · https://haidut.me/?p=2734

> Right after my posts about the sarcopenic/catabolic effects of anti-obesity/antidiabetic medications such as metformin and the widely popular GLP-1 agonist drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, etc), the study below (sent to me by one of my readers) may provide a cheap and widely available method for counteracting the muscle wasting effects of those drugs. Years ago, I did a post about vitamin B6 being the most potent endogenous, non-steroidal, glucocorticoid antagonist. which may explain to a great degree the anticatabolic effects seen in the study below. Most of the so-called androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) are also potent glucocorticoid antagonists and many of them also inhibit the major “brake” on muscle growth known as myostatin, while also increasing muscle synthesis. The last effect – inhibiting myostatin – is a very hot topic currently in pharma research (as well as in competitive sports) and many companies are racing to develop myostatin inhibitors as agents for treating sarcopenia/cachexia, as well as increasing athletic performance. The study below shows that vitamin B6 has effects similar to an AAS – i.e. increasing expression of proteins responsible for muscle growth and differentiation, while also inhibiting myostatin expression by about 25%-30%. The type of vitamin B6 used was the widely available and cheap pyridoxine hydrochloride and the optimal human-equivalent dose was about 1mg/kg daily, for 60 days. Now, that may seem like a hefty dose, but most people routinely ingest 50mg+ B6 daily from sports/energy drinks or vitamin B complex supplementation. However, studies have also shown that the active form of B6 known as P5P has the same effects as a dose 10-times higher when using regular B6. That means for most people, the effects of the study should be possible to replicate by using just 5mg-10mg P5P daily. Thus, it may not be a bad idea to take some vitamin B6 when using any diabetic drugs in order to reduce the muscle loss they induce, especially considering that vitamin B6 has been shown to help with glucose control (which probably also stems from its role as an anti-glucocorticoid agent).
>
> [references]

### Source 4 — The Peat Whisperer

Danny Roddy · Book · 2012

> ### Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
>
> **Danny Roddy:** High amounts of tryptophan59 and estrogen suppress vitamin B6, disabling its prodopamine, anti-prolactin effects. 60 Adequate B6 facilitates amino acid utilization,61 aids in calcium metabolism,24 supports the liver, increases the production of niacin from L-tryptophan, and helps regulate the facilitation and use of glycogen.62 Foods: liver, egg yolk, milk

### Source 5 — Ray Peat Email Advice Depository — Post 677

Ray Peat · Email · Jun 18, 2021

> ## Thread 10
>
> **Question:** hi mr Peat apparently vitamin b6 in pyridoxine hydrochloride depletes b6 and causes issues? do you recommend not supplementing with zinc and vitamin b6 at all? what about supplementing magnesium?
>
> **Ray Peat:** I don’t recommend supplements generally, because foods can provide them, and the supplements are always contaminated to some extent in the manufacturing process. In extreme cases I have recommended a small dose of pyridoxine hydrochloride which worked immediately and very well.
>
> **Question:** but there's apparently studies saying pydorizine hydchloride inhibits and depletes activity of pyridoxal 5 phosphate. people say you should only use the active form of supplement. also what cases did you suggest b6 supplementation for what was the purpose/ which foods even contain b6. it seems to not be present in any foods, at least not in high amounts to reach 2 milligrams or more daily
>
> **Ray Peat:** People say anything to sell their product. It’s in a wide range of foods. I’ve given small supplements for a variety of problems. The first time was a 2 year old child that had diarrhea that the hospital couldn’t control, and after 3 or 4 days they said she was within a few hours of dying; it was only at that point that the father dared to give her the supplement, and the diarrhea stopped almost immediately. My suggestion, in 1962, was based on old research. It’s effective for many problems related to the distribution of salts and water.

### Source 6 — Some cases of “diabetes” II may be just deficiency of (active) vitamin B6

Georgi Dinkov · Article · Jul 17, 2024 · https://haidut.me/?p=2567

> Despite the widespread food fortification with vitamins in many “developed” countries, the fortification mostly revolves around iron, vitamin B1 and niacin 9B3). Even if foods are fortified with other vitamins, such fortification is rare, and even when done it is invariably performed with the inactive precursors of vitamins due the lower cost of using precursors. For some of the vitamins, especially vitamins B6 and B2, multiple studies have demonstrated that administering the precursor has diminished effectiveness in aging/disease due to reduced conversion into the active form. In fact, the lack of conversion of the cheap vitamin B6 precursor (pyridoxine Hcl) is the main cause of the well-known neuropathy side effect from pyridoxine supplementation, while neuropathy does not occur when the active form of B6 is taken instead. Anyways, the study below demonstrates that a simple deficiency of the activated form of vitamin B6 – pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (P5P) – is enough to cause full blown diabetes II in animals and that, conversely, restoring the levels of P5P may be able to reverse some cases of diabetes. Now, the point of this post is not to make people immediately start popping vitamins left and right, but rather to point out that in some (many?) cases a chronic serious disease that has spun a massive medical industry around it, may be nothing more than simple nutrient deficiency resulting in suppressed mitochondrial function (as is the case in this study as well). As such, a reasonable approach would be to do some testing for P5P, as well as the activity of several of the enzymes that depend on that vitamin/cofactor. If deficiency is confirmed, then it may be safer to try first P5P supplementation instead of the myriad of pharma drugs a doctor would likely push hard on every patient newly diagnosed with diabetes II. The story Peat often told about his father curing his diabetes I by eating Brewer’s yeast (which is very rich in the B vitamins) now has a study corroborating its legitimacy.
>
> [references]

### Source 7 — Ray Peat Email Advice Depository — Post 677

Ray Peat · Email · Jun 18, 2021

> ## Thread 3
>
> **Question:** anyway some of the dudes on the forums have mentioned there's studies showing b6 supplements deplete vitamin B1 . there is one or two studies claiming pyridoxine HCL inhibits activity of the active form of b6 pyridoxal 5 phosphate so some recommend using the active b6 form. these studies always seem to come out years after the fact. as far as copper/zinc depleting each other, b6 depleting b1 etc. it seems that when you supplement evern a single vitamin or mineral, it will undoubtedly deplete or affect anothe vitamin or mineral. in animal thyroid glands, there is T1, T2, T3, T4, calcitonin and parathyroid. when you take T4 and T3 you get something totally different. the animal thyroid gland can probably be eaten infinitely or by the pound with no ill effect. the same goes for progesterone . it probably has to be in balance with other hormones and even nutrients. why do you recommend progesterone and T3? also I have tried T3 and actually gained weight from it and noticed it burning up muscle tissue. progesterone can apparently convert to cortisol and aldosterone especially in stressed organisms. apparently people have gained weight and had issues with it.
>
> **Ray Peat:** John Ioannidis’ article “Why most research findings are false” is worth reading. Things discussed on “forums” aren’t. Ordinary corporate advertising has been supplemented by the much more economical practice of hiring product reviewers to slander competing products, joining multiple forums with their "unhappy experiences." Specific vitamin and mineral deficiencies were discovered among impoverished people living on foods that were just available sources of energy, and they are rare when people can buy the foods they want. Government agencies serve the industries that they should regulate, and shouldn’t be trusted as reliable sources of information. In the case of my friend's kid who was dying from diarrhea, appropriate foods weren’t being given in the hospital, and the 10 mg of vitamin B6 obviously served the purpose without depleting anything. Your sentences "progesterone can apparently convert to cortisol and aldosterone especially in stressed organisms. apparently people have gained weight and had issues with it” wouldn’t be acceptable even in an English composition class, unless “apparently” could be backed up in some way with evidence.

### Source 8 — Jodellefit: Stress and Your Health

Ray Peat · Interview · Apr 27, 2019

> **Ray Peat:** In the 1950s and 60s, I was interested in psychology and language. I started a school in Mexico, Blake College. In the process, I noticed that many local people were eating a very bad diet. A couple of my friends had family members who were very sick. Having read Adelle Davis's books, I suggested some of her nutritional therapies. For example, a friend's nephew had been in the hospital for two or three days with diarrhea that they couldn't control. They said he wouldn't live through the night. My friend decided there was no harm in trying the vitamin B6 supplement, which was one of Adelle Davis's recommendations for diarrhea. He gave the child a 10-milligram tablet of vitamin B6, and within the hour, the diarrhea stopped. He recovered in just a couple of days. A single vitamin did what the whole hospital staff couldn't manage with intravenous treatments. I realized that a lot of information wasn't getting into the medical system. I decided to study biology instead of the humanities. In graduate school, I ran into the same dogmatism. I had planned to study brain biology, but I saw that the professors were locked into a dogmatic view of how a nerve works. I found that the reproductive physiology department at the University of Oregon was actually doing open research, trying to discover the causes of infertility in aging.

### Source 9 — IdeaLabs Forum Q&A — Energin

Georgi Dinkov · Forum Q&A · May 14, 2014

> **Georgi Dinkov:** (2016-02-28) Most of the neuropathic side effects from B6 are from the regular Hcl salt. I have not seen a study showing P5P causes these issues. The doses in Energin are based no studies I have seen discussing optimal doses for interaction in a B complex vitamin combined with doses Peat has mentioned in his articles. Considering that it is a supplement, this is not meant to take if you think you are covering the vitamin needs from food. Like any supplement, it is for the people who think/know they need more and want to get it in an as balanced way as possible from a supplement.
>
> **dao123:** (2016-03-14) I just purchased an energin supplement. It says 40 drops is a daily dose, and that the bottle contains about a monthly supply. I've been taking only about 9 - 12 drops a day and at this rate I am not sure the bottle will make it to week 2 or 3. Could the bottle be defective? I experimented with taking about twenty drops today and felt very anxious initially, but I am prone to anxiety and being in doubt over the dosage could have given me something to ruminate about. Two hours later I feel pretty good. Anyway, is energin a monthly supply, and with that in mind should I just try to take the amount daily that would see it last that long? Would it be possible that I received too little?

### Source 10 — Vitamin B3 (niacinamide) and B6 help muscle repair/recovery after exercise/trauma

Georgi Dinkov · Article · May 23, 2026 · https://haidut.me/?p=3041

> By reducing cortisol signaling, B6 shifts the balance from muscle breakdown toward muscle repair and regeneration.
>
> The human-equivalent doses, based on the Nestle product, are approximately 700 mg of niacinamide and 20 mg of pyridoxine per day. This is entirely consistent with what I have recommended on the forum: gram-level doses of niacinamide (typically 500 mg to 1.5 g daily) and modest doses of P5P (the active form of B6, ~10-30 mg). Note that Nestle uses pyridoxine (the less active form), but the principle is the same.
>
> [references]

### Source 11 — Episode 8: Georgi Dinkov (Haidut) on Vitamins and Their Dosing

Georgi Dinkov · Interview · Jul 4, 2020 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMWKzUA1cu8

> **Georgi Dinkov:** 50 to 100 milligrams two or three times a day is enough, and if you know that you will drink, which most people know very well when it is time to drink, then more can be taken, 250 to 500 milligrams one hour before drinking. You can even take it together with alcohol, again it is not a problem, it will still help. Then we come to vitamin pantothenic acid, panthenol, which is vitamin B5. And with it, it is one of the vitamins with which it is very hard to overdose. That is, the body uses what it can, and what it does not, it is immediately excreted. Unlike nicotinamide, it does not turn into some cofactor, excuse me, it does turn into a cofactor, but the levels of this cofactor are controlled very strictly, and if you take more, you will not raise the levels of the cofactor more. It will reach an optimal increase, and beyond that the excess of this vitamin is urinated out, but for it the standard doses are between 50 and 100 milligrams per day. Then we come to vitamin B6, so-called pyridoxine. Now, vitamin B6, bodybuilders, culturists very often use it, because it is known that it lowers prolactin and increases dopamine, which many people like, this works well for them, which means that it raises ability both in exams and in the bedroom. Whoever has high dopamine, his mind is sharp and the other thing is sharp too. But with it you have to be careful, because in large doses normal pyridoxine can have neurotoxic effects, peripheral, that is, numbness of the limbs occurs, but this is only with this normal pyridoxine hydrochloride that is in normal supplements. If you find the activated version, because in the body pyridoxine is turned into another vitamin that is a cofactor, of course, called pyridoxal 5-phosphate. And if you find pyridoxal 5-phosphate, it does not have these neurotoxic effects, that is, you can play with it more, but again it is not something with which a person should drug himself.

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