Health officials in the Land Down Under are cracking down on a popular supplement.
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced this week that it will roll out new sales restrictions and labeling rules for vitamin B6 products, warning that prolonged high doses can cause potentially dangerous side effects.
“You can have too much of a good thing,” Dr. Oliver Jones, a chemistry professor at RMIT University in Melbourne, who was not involved in the new policy, said in a statement. “The dose makes the benefit as well as the poison.”
People obtain vitamin B6 through a diet of foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs and fortified whole grains. SERSOLL – stock.adobe.com
Vitamin B6 is an essential nutrient that helps with more than 140 functions in the body, including brain development, immune support and the metabolism of proteins, fats and carbs.
We can’t make it ourselves, but health experts say that most people get enough from foods like foods like poultry, fish, starchy vegetables and fruits without needing to take supplements.
After all, you don’t need much of it. For most American adults under 50, the recommended daily amount is just 1.3 milligrams (mg). Women over 50 need 1.5 mg, and men 1.7 mg, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Still, a 2021 study found nearly 13% of Americans may be deficient, which can raise the risk of a wide range of health problems, including anemia, seizures, depression, heart disease and even some cancers.
But whether they’re deficient or not, plenty of people take vitamin B6 supplements — and can get extra doses from products like energy drinks, weight-loss shakes and multivitamins.
“The problem is that vitamin B6 is in a range of products, so it is easy to accidentally take too much without realizing,” Jones said. “People may then not link their symptoms to the supplements, so they can be ill for some time and not know why.”
High levels of vitamin B6 can damage the nervous system, causing symptoms like tingling, numbness, and pain in the hands and feet. Yura Yarema – stock.adobe.com
Before announcing its new rules, the TGA conducted a sweeping review of the available evidence, which included more than 100 submissions from people who reported “severe, sometimes permanent” health effects from vitamin B6 toxicity, according to 7.30, the ABC’s nightly current‑affairs program in Australia.
That includes peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage that can cause numbness, tingling and muscle weakness, usually in the hands and feet.
“Vitamin B6–induced neuropathy is uncommon, but the risk is rising because of widespread supplement use,” Dr. Peter Crack, head of the University of Melbourne’s Neuropharmacology Laboratory, said in a statement.
“Neuropathy is almost never seen with dietary intake alone, and occurs almost exclusively in people taking supplements at doses well above physiological needs,” he added.
Toxic levels of vitamin B6 have also been linked to stomach problems, skin lesions, extreme sun sensitivity and a reduced ability to sense heat, cold or pain.
Australians will now need to consult with a pharmacist or obtain a prescription for products containing high doses of vitamin B6. Reese/peopleimages.com – stock.adobe.com
Seeking to clamp down on the risks, the TGA will begin enforcing new rules in June 2027, including:
Requiring pharmacist supervision to buy vitamin B6 products containing 50 mg to 200 mg per recommended daily dose.
Requiring a prescription for vitamin B6 products above 200 mg.
Requiring front-of-pack warnings when a product contains vitamin B6.
Lower-dose products — 50 mg or less — will still be available over the counter without a pharmacist.
“The amount of B6 which might cause toxicity is not fully known, as it seems to vary across the population,” Dr. Vasso Apostolopoulos, a professor of immunology, and Jack Feehan, a immunology fellow at RMIT University, wrote in The Conversation.
“Some studies have identified nerve damage in people taking less than 500mg/day, but not below 200mg/day. So this is likely why the TGA chose these limits,” they explained.
In the US adults can take up to 100 mg of vitamin B6 per day before reaching the country’s official “upper limit,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
That’s significantly higher than many other parts of the world. In Europe, the Food Safety Authority has set the tolerable upper intake level for adults at 12 mg per day, while in Japan the limit ranges from 40 mg to 60 mg, depending on age and sex.
“If you choose supplements, stick to low-dose options like multivitamins or B-complex products that provide less than 10mg per day,” Dr. Vijay Suppiah, senior lecturer in pharmacy at the University of South Australia, said in a statement.
“Always check labels and consult a healthcare professional before starting any high-dose regimen,” he advised. “The bottom line: High-dose vitamin B6 is not risk-free.”
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