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Good Food Sources of Vitamin B6 by Karen Schroeder Kassel, MS, RD, MEd

Here's Why:

Vitamin B6 image Vitamin B6 is involved in many functions in the body. It helps your immune system and nervous system, and it aids in the metabolism of essential nutrients. It is also found in many foods and will be easy to fit in your diet if you need to increase your intake.

Recommended Intake:

Age	RDA (mg)
Age	Women	Men
1-3 years	0.5 mg	0.5 mg
4-8 years	0.6 mg	0.6 mg
9-13 years	1.0 mg	1.0 mg
14-18 years	1.2 mg	1.3 mg
19-50 years	1.3 mg	1.3 mg
51 and older	1.5 mg	1.7 mg
Pregnancy	1.9 mg	n/a
Lactation	2.0 mg	n/a

Here's How:

Food	Serving size	Vitamin B6 content (mg)
Fortified breakfast cereal	3/4 cup	0.5-2.0 (check Nutrition Facts label)
Oatmeal, instant	1 packet	0.74
Potato, baked with skin	1 medium	0.70
Banana	1 medium	0.68
Chicken breast, skinless, roasted	3 ounces	0.5
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)	1/2 cup	0.57
Pork loin, broiled	3 ounces	0.39
Top sirloin, broiled	3 ounces	0.39
Halibut, broiled	3 ounces	0.34
Rainbow trout, cooked	3 ounces	0.29
Brown rice, cooked	1 cup	0.28
Sweet potato, baked with skin	1 medium	0.27
Sunflower seeds, dry roasted	1 ounce	0.23
Avocado	1/2 cup	0.20
Kidney beans, cooked	1/2 cup	0.18
Lentils, cooked	1/2 cup	0.18
Tuna, canned in water	3 ounces	0.18
Peanut butter	2 tablespoons	0.15
Lima beans, cooked	1/2 cup	0.10
Soybeans, cooked	1/2 cup	0.05

To increase your vitamin B6 intake:

Sprinkle kidney beans or garbanzo beans on a salad.
In the morning, opt for a fortified breakfast cereal.
Slice a banana into your oatmeal, cereal, or yogurt.
Have fish for dinner a few times a week.
Choose brown rice instead of white, and mix lentils with the rice.
For a different sandwich, try peanut butter and banana.
If you take a vitamin supplement, make sure it contains vitamin B6—but no more than 100% of the RDA. Also, talk to your doctor before starting a new supplement.

RESOURCES:

American Dietetic Association http://www.eatright.org/
US Department of Agriculture http://www.usda.gov/

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition http://www.ccfn.ca/
Dietitians of Canada http://www.dietitians.ca/

References:

de Planter Bowes A, Thompson Pennington J, Church H.Bowes & Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used. 17th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1998.
Duyff R. The American Dietetic Association's Complete Food & Nutrition Guide. Minneapolis, MN: Chronimed Publishing; 1998.
EBSCO CAM Review Board. Vitamin B6. EBSCO Natural and Alternative Treatments website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/biomedical-libraries/natural-alternative-treatments. Updated August 2011. Accessed May 30, 2012.
Pyridoxine. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated May 16, 2011. Accessed May 30, 2012.

Last reviewed May 2012 by Brian Randall, MD

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