EasyEJL
Never enough
Vitamin B6 has a wealth of uses in the human body, and a number of them particularly beneficial to bodybuilders. For a start, B6 is necessary for protein + fuel metabolism during exercise. Without B6, your body is unable to create the enzymes necessary to handle managing amino acids effectively. The release of glucose from glycogen is also handled by a B6 created enzyme. For bodybuilders, both of these are critical.
In the nervous system, another interesting role is the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin. Other neurotransmitters including GABA, norepinephrine and dopamine are all created from B6 dependent enzymes. So B6 is necessary for proper brain functioning as well.
Within the blood system B6 is a coenzyme for the creation of heme, a component of hemoglobin. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which is critical to their ability to transfer oxygen to cells. And in the hormone systems B6 helps control cortisol levels.
So all of these sound great, but big whoop, lots of vitamins have varied effects and uses in the body, whats so special about B6 for bodybuilders? Lets start with the protein synthesis part. Since B6 is used in breaking + recreating amino acids, taking in more protein means you use more B6. Right off the bat, this means that just to reasonably process the food you eat requires significantly more B6 than what is in the USRDA. Interestingly as well, having higher B6 in bloodstream during exercise means heightened GH release. so taking this from the other view, your large protein uptake may be cutting into your GH release.
Here is the big kicker. B6 is tied to prolactin levels. Clinical studies have proven that a sufficient level of B6 can suppress lactation in women. Delving deeper into prolactin we find that the hypothalmus controls prolactin through inhibition and that in all individuals it will rise if not properly controlled. B6's mechanism for controlling prolactin is through aiding in additional dopamine production (magnesium is also necssary for this, but you should be taking ZMA or ZMK already). Another important point is that hypoglycemia stimulates prolactin release. In a clinical environment, women have stopped lactating after 600mg of b6 a day for 7 days.
So wrapping this portion up for bodybuilders... Going on a hormonal cycle and loading up with protein causes you to go into a low b6 state, which can cause poor sleep and climb in prolactin levels. Then post cycle therapy begins, and your B6 is getting used up fighting cortisol, continuing elevated prolactin levels. I'm not saying this happens to everyone, but it could be a factor in explaining prolacting and progesterone induced gyno issues.
Take more B6 right? its not entirely that simple. Vitamin B6 as its commonly sold as Pyridoxine which is a precursor of what the body actually uses, Pyridoxal 5 Phosphate. The problem is that pyridoxine taken in doses as low as just 200mg has been shown to cause deadening of nerve endings. Not exactly what you are looking for. Luckily, it is possible to buy p-5-p directly, and it does NOT have any known toxicity issues. So dosing it at the somewhere between 200-1000mg a day during a cycle to cover your protein needs as well as stop prolactin rising. So don't just pop extra B6, make sure you find P-5-P instead.
As an end note i'm still researching the interaction between L-Dopa (major ingredient in powerfull, IGF-2, Somnidren GH, etc) as it seems that high levels of b6 may cause the L-dopa to convert to dopamine outside the brain barrier, and have it be wasted. i'll update when I find anything vaguely conclusive.
In the nervous system, another interesting role is the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin. Other neurotransmitters including GABA, norepinephrine and dopamine are all created from B6 dependent enzymes. So B6 is necessary for proper brain functioning as well.
Within the blood system B6 is a coenzyme for the creation of heme, a component of hemoglobin. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which is critical to their ability to transfer oxygen to cells. And in the hormone systems B6 helps control cortisol levels.
So all of these sound great, but big whoop, lots of vitamins have varied effects and uses in the body, whats so special about B6 for bodybuilders? Lets start with the protein synthesis part. Since B6 is used in breaking + recreating amino acids, taking in more protein means you use more B6. Right off the bat, this means that just to reasonably process the food you eat requires significantly more B6 than what is in the USRDA. Interestingly as well, having higher B6 in bloodstream during exercise means heightened GH release. so taking this from the other view, your large protein uptake may be cutting into your GH release.
Here is the big kicker. B6 is tied to prolactin levels. Clinical studies have proven that a sufficient level of B6 can suppress lactation in women. Delving deeper into prolactin we find that the hypothalmus controls prolactin through inhibition and that in all individuals it will rise if not properly controlled. B6's mechanism for controlling prolactin is through aiding in additional dopamine production (magnesium is also necssary for this, but you should be taking ZMA or ZMK already). Another important point is that hypoglycemia stimulates prolactin release. In a clinical environment, women have stopped lactating after 600mg of b6 a day for 7 days.
So wrapping this portion up for bodybuilders... Going on a hormonal cycle and loading up with protein causes you to go into a low b6 state, which can cause poor sleep and climb in prolactin levels. Then post cycle therapy begins, and your B6 is getting used up fighting cortisol, continuing elevated prolactin levels. I'm not saying this happens to everyone, but it could be a factor in explaining prolacting and progesterone induced gyno issues.
Take more B6 right? its not entirely that simple. Vitamin B6 as its commonly sold as Pyridoxine which is a precursor of what the body actually uses, Pyridoxal 5 Phosphate. The problem is that pyridoxine taken in doses as low as just 200mg has been shown to cause deadening of nerve endings. Not exactly what you are looking for. Luckily, it is possible to buy p-5-p directly, and it does NOT have any known toxicity issues. So dosing it at the somewhere between 200-1000mg a day during a cycle to cover your protein needs as well as stop prolactin rising. So don't just pop extra B6, make sure you find P-5-P instead.
As an end note i'm still researching the interaction between L-Dopa (major ingredient in powerfull, IGF-2, Somnidren GH, etc) as it seems that high levels of b6 may cause the L-dopa to convert to dopamine outside the brain barrier, and have it be wasted. i'll update when I find anything vaguely conclusive.
The negative potential of regular b6 is kind of scary, given all the ways they use it. the fact that 600mg a day for 5-7 days stops lactation in women who were breastfeeding is astounding for sure.
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