Can Vitamin B6 actually balance hormones? It does, it does. A vital note, please, before we begin. While B6 plays a role in hormone balance, it is just one piece of the puzzle. Hormone balance is so complex and influenced by various factors. We always say in our circles that those with balanced hormones are the lucky ones. I had struggled with hormones at a very early age and had cystic ovaries when I was a teenager. I was given all sorts of hormones, birth control stuff, to deal with the cysts. It was very disruptive to my cycle and weight. I gained lots of weight at the time. It played with my sleep pattern and my mental health. It was such an early age to be pumped with hormones, and the disruption continued on and off for many years. It’s a shame, but it is what it is. Only at a later stage of life, after I had my only daughter at the age of 38, when I got my diet, exercise, stress, mental health, and environment right—when I sorted all these things—did I start having healthy, regular cycles at the age of 44. Now I’m 46. That’s a small introduction to how complicated hormones are.
Now, vitamin B6 does balance hormones. The European Food Safety Authority has confirmed that Vitamin B6 contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity. It’s an authorized health claim. We have B6 here along with maca, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, vitamins, and minerals. This formula is to maintain hormonal and sexual drive, increase stamina, and reduce menopause symptoms.
Let’s talk about B6. Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning it dissolves in water, so the body cannot store it. Any excess of B6 goes out of your body with wee. That’s why we have to replenish B6 daily from food or supplements. Better with food, of course, because this is the most bioavailable form of the vitamin. I sell supplements, but I’m a strong, strong believer in food—in real tuna that you can retrieve from a can, add a bit of olive oil and tomatoes, and eat. And doesn’t it feel that the whole experience of obtaining and preparing food is therapeutic and might reduce stress? We’ll get to how stress affects hormones in a bit.
One of B6’s roles is balancing estrogen and progesterone in women. How? B6 is a co-factor in more than 140 biochemical reactions in the human cell. B6 is an essential co-factor in fatty acid metabolism that impacts hormonal health. Let me explain what a co-factor is. A co-factor is a substance that forms a complex with certain enzymes and is essential for their activity. B6 is a co-factor for enzymes involved in estrogen detoxification. So, decreased levels of B6 can disrupt estrogen detoxification and lead to increased levels of estrogen. We don’t want that.
The thing is, Vitamin B6 supports the liver's ability to break down and remove excess estrogen from the body, which means it aids in the metabolism of estrogen. This prevents estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance can lead to symptoms like bloating, mood swings, and irregular menstrual cycles.
Vitamin B6 is involved in the production of progesterone. We know that progesterone is a hormone essential for maintaining the uterine lining and making pregnancy last full term. Adequate levels of progesterone balance estrogen and promote regular menstrual cycles.
Now, regarding the nervous system, Vitamin B6 is necessary for the synthesis of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Both serotonin and dopamine regulate your mood and give you a better stress response, meaning you react to stress in a healthy way—without overreacting, collapsing, or over-exhausting your fight-or-flight response. Imbalance in these neurotransmitters can affect hormone production very negatively.
And of course, chronic stress itself disrupts sex hormones because it increases cortisol levels, which impacts estrogen and progesterone levels negatively. Stress is absolutely unavoidable; those who say eliminate stress, I don’t know where they live—I live in the UK. Reasonable levels of stress can be beneficial; it drives you ahead, doesn’t it? It gets you to do things. But stress should never be chronic.
Vitamin B6 also supports the adrenal gland, which regulates and normalizes your response to daily stress. Added to all the previous benefits, some studies suggest that vitamin B6 can help alleviate symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, such as mood swings, bloating, and breast tenderness.
Now, where can we find B6? The richest sources of B6 are fish, beef liver (which is a superfood containing all vitamins and minerals), poultry, tuna, chickpeas (surprisingly rich in B6), and bananas. I’m not a big fan of bananas for their high-carb content, but they are a good source of B6.
Roughly 75% of B6 from a mixed diet is bioavailable, meaning it can be efficiently absorbed and used by your body. What does that mean? It means if you have a half-decent diet, you will not need supplements in the first place. I still want to mention that we have B6 in our maca, ginseng, and ginkgo biloba, vitamins, and minerals formula if needed.
-- Written by Hala, founder of Dietapplements
