Vitamin B6 is an important nutrient that your body uses every day to stay healthy, but many people don’t get enough of it. Scientists are learning more about how this vitamin works in your body and how it might help prevent or manage certain diseases. This research review looks at what we currently know about vitamin B6, how your body uses it, and what health problems might happen when you don’t get enough. Understanding vitamin B6 better could help doctors give better advice about nutrition and prevent health issues before they start.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: How vitamin B6 works in your body, what happens when you don’t get enough, and how it connects to different diseases and health conditions
  • Who participated: This is a review article that summarizes existing research rather than testing people directly. It pulls together findings from many different studies about vitamin B6
  • Key finding: Vitamin B6 plays many important roles in keeping your body working properly, and not getting enough of it may be connected to several health problems that scientists are still studying
  • What it means for you: This research suggests that making sure you get enough vitamin B6 through food or supplements might be important for your health, but you should talk to a doctor about whether you need more vitamin B6 in your diet

The Research Details

This is a review article, which means the researchers looked at and summarized what other scientists have already discovered about vitamin B6. Instead of doing their own experiment with people, they gathered information from many different studies to create a complete picture of what we know about this vitamin. This type of research is helpful because it brings together lots of information in one place and helps identify patterns in what scientists have learned. The researchers looked at how vitamin B6 works in your body, what happens when you don’t get enough, and how it might be connected to various diseases.

Review articles like this are important because they help doctors and scientists understand the big picture about a topic. By looking at many studies together, researchers can see what most scientists agree on and what areas still need more research. This helps guide future studies and helps doctors give better advice to their patients about nutrition.

Since this is a review article that summarizes other research, its quality depends on which studies the authors included and how carefully they analyzed them. The journal, Journal of Future Foods, is a newer publication, so readers should look for clear explanations of how the authors chose which studies to include and whether they considered both supporting and contradicting evidence. The lack of a specific abstract makes it harder to quickly understand what the article covers, so readers should look at the full article for complete information.

What the Results Show

Vitamin B6, also called pyridoxine, is a water-soluble vitamin that your body needs for many important jobs. It helps your brain develop and work properly, helps your immune system fight off germs, and helps your body break down the food you eat into energy. Your body cannot store vitamin B6 for very long, so you need to get it regularly from the foods you eat or from supplements. The research shows that vitamin B6 is involved in over 100 different chemical reactions in your body, which shows how important it is for staying healthy.

The research also looks at what happens when people don’t get enough vitamin B6. Not getting enough can cause tiredness, weak muscles, problems with your skin, and trouble concentrating. Some studies suggest that low vitamin B6 levels might be connected to heart disease, certain types of cancer, and problems with brain health, though scientists are still working to understand these connections better. The research also discusses how much vitamin B6 different people need based on their age and sex, and which foods are good sources of this vitamin.

This review brings together what scientists have learned about vitamin B6 over many years of research. It builds on earlier work by showing how our understanding of this vitamin has grown and what new questions scientists are trying to answer. The research shows that while we’ve known for a long time that vitamin B6 is important, scientists are still discovering new ways it affects our health and new reasons why getting enough of it matters.

Since this is a review article rather than a new study, it depends on the quality of other research that’s already been done. Some areas might not have enough research yet to give clear answers. The article doesn’t include its own new data from testing people, so readers can’t see the exact numbers from a single large study. Also, because the article was published in 2026, some of the information might not include the very newest research that came out after that date.

The Bottom Line

Make sure you’re getting enough vitamin B6 by eating foods like chicken, fish, potatoes, chickpeas, and bananas. If you’re concerned you’re not getting enough, talk to your doctor about whether you need a supplement. Most people who eat a varied diet get enough vitamin B6, but certain groups like older adults or people with certain health conditions might need more. (Confidence level: Moderate - based on established nutritional science)

Everyone should make sure they’re getting enough vitamin B6, but it’s especially important for pregnant women, older adults, and people with certain health conditions like kidney disease or autoimmune disorders. If you eat a balanced diet with meat, fish, vegetables, and whole grains, you’re probably getting enough. People following very restricted diets should pay special attention to getting enough vitamin B6.

If you’re not getting enough vitamin B6, you might start feeling more energetic and focused within a few weeks of getting more of it. However, if you’re already getting enough vitamin B6 from your diet, taking more won’t necessarily make you feel better. Any major health benefits from improving vitamin B6 levels would likely take several weeks to months to notice.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • Track your daily vitamin B6 intake by logging foods rich in B6 (chicken, fish, potatoes, chickpeas, bananas) and note your energy levels and mood each day to see if there’s a connection
  • Add one B6-rich food to your daily meals - for example, have a banana with breakfast, add chickpeas to your lunch salad, or include salmon in your dinner twice a week
  • Use the app to track which B6-rich foods you eat each week and monitor how you feel (energy, focus, mood) to see if getting more B6 makes a difference for you personally

This article summarizes research about vitamin B6 and health, but it is not medical advice. Vitamin B6 needs vary by age, sex, and health status. If you think you might not be getting enough vitamin B6, have symptoms of deficiency, or are considering taking supplements, please talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before making changes to your diet or starting supplements. This is especially important if you take medications, have health conditions, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, as vitamin B6 can interact with certain medications and needs may be different.