Have you wondered how many vitamin B-6 rich foods you can add to your diet? There are so many amazing options.
Vitamin B-6, also known as pyridoxine, is one out of 8 B vitamins. This essential vitamin family has some nutrients that are necessary for the proper functioning of the human body.
These functions include stress reduction and the maintenance of overall good health.
Benefits of Vitamin B-6
Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) is a vitamin that helps the body turn food into energy. This vitamin can also help the human body defend itself against infections.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women need this essential vitamin to help their babies’ brains achieve normal development.
Symptoms of B-6 deficiency
Insufficient amounts or a lack of vitamin B-6 can cause anaemia as well as a number of skin disorders, such as cracks around the mouth, or a rash. A lack of vitamin B-6 also can cause:
- Confusion
- Nausea
- Depression
- Susceptibility to infections
- Anaemia
- Skin rashes (dermatitis)
The B-6 vitamin is usually lacking in the diet of an average American. While vitamin B-6 can be purchased as a supplement from the pharmacy, it is also possible for you to get the right amount from the foods you eat.
Vitamin B-6 rich Foods
Check out these 15 vitamin B-6 rich foods. Remember that it is always best that all your vitamins are taking in through the food you eat.
1. Milk
A vitamin B-6 deficiency can lead to some serious medical problems. Taking in too little of this vitamin can affect the central nervous system negatively. This effect of the deficiency is especially true for kids.
One of the easiest ways to keep a high intake of this vitamin is to make sure that both children and adults drink milk every day.
A single cup of goat or cow’s milk provides you with up to 5 percent of the recommended daily value of the vitamin B-6. If you would prefer low-fat, nutritious options, you can opt for skim and 1 percent milk.
Milk also offers very high amounts of calcium and vitamin B-12. If drinking a glass of milk isn’t one of the things you like, try pouring your milk over a bowl of fortified low-sugar breakfast cereal and see if you like it.
This explains why milk takes the number one spot on our list of vitamin B-6 rich foods.
2. Ricotta cheese
Vitamin B-6 is a water-soluble vitamin, and you can find it in the whey protein content of cheese. This means that the more whey protein your cheese has, the higher the amount of B-6 that it is likely to contain.
There are some other water-soluble nutrients that can be found in whey, and they include thiamin (vitamin B-1), riboflavin (vitamin B-2), folate, and niacin (vitamin B-3). If you are looking for the cheese with the highest whey content, then you should check out ricotta.
The ricotta cheese has been adored for its smooth texture and mellow taste and is commonly found in quite a number of Italian specialities, such as lasagna and cheesecake. The ricotta cheese is also used in pancakes and in a quiche.
3. Salmon
This heart-friendly fish comes with one of the highest concentrations of the vitamin B-6 that is available in food. Vitamin B-6 is essential for adrenal health. Your adrenal glands produce vital hormones, such as adrenalin, cortisol, and aldosterone.
The hormones produced in the adrenals are what helps in the regulation of blood pressure and also work to balance blood sugar levels. Salmon is also rich in other nutrients and doubles as a wonderful low-fat source of protein.
You can get salmon on the menu of any restaurant. If you are one of those who would rather cook your salmon at home, search for the wild varieties. The wild ones have a higher concentration of B-6 than the farm breed salmon.
Try experimenting with various spices of salmon and different preparation techniques. Your salmon can be grilled, baked, broiled, sautéed, and stir-fried.
4. Tuna (yellowfin and albacore)
Vitamin B-6 helps the production of haemoglobin, which is the protein that transports oxygen through your blood. You can find some very high concentrations of B-6 in tuna, especially in the albacore and yellowfin varieties.
The highest concentrations of B-6 can be found in tuna steak, but you can also find significant levels in canned tuna. Like salmon, Tuna is also high in those healthy omega-3 fatty acids that are found in cold-water fish.
5. Eggs
No matter how you decide to cook your eggs, two eggs will provide you with 10 percent of the RDV (recommended daily value) for vitamin B-6, and also protein and other vital nutrients.
Eggs are not only healthy, but they are also a versatile food, that is packed with nutrition. Eggs are the perfect breakfast option, but they also make a nice and easy-to-prepare lunch or dinner.
With eggs, you can never get bored. However, try not to have more than one egg daily.
6. Chicken liver
Don’t be shocked to find Chicken liver on this list. This food, which is highly nutritious is not as famous as it used to be, but it remains a wonderful source of folate, protein, and vitamin A, as well as vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12.
Vitamin B-6 helps the human body to efficiently break down and use protein. Chicken livers are easy to make, delicious, and inexpensive.
7. Beef
Meat, including steak and hamburger, often gets a bad rap when it comes to nutrition. Beef can have very high-fat content, but it also offers significant amounts of protein and many other nutrients, and that includes vitamin B-6.
If you decide to go for beef that is lean and grass-fed, you can get all the benefits that come from the nutrition while easily eliminating much it’s fat.
Meat is a favourite, and highly versatile, year-round food. When the weather is cold, meat can be made into a cosy beef barley stew or soup. In warmer weather, meat makes the perfect barbecues.
8. Carrots
One medium stick of carrot supplies you with as much vitamin B-6 as you can get from a glass of milk, plus fibre and very high vitamin A content.
You can eat carrots in different ways, raw as a snack, cooked, or liquefied in a juice or smoothie. Vitamin B-6 helps to make the protein sheath around your nerve cells, known as myelin.
You can chop up some carrots to make a bowl of carrot raisin salad or just toss them into your vegetable stir-fry.
9. Spinach
Vitamin B-6 works to create antibodies, which help to stave off disease and infections. Spinach has very high vitamin B-6 content, as well as in vitamins C and A, plus iron.
10. Sweet potato
Despite their somewhat sugary taste, sweet potatoes do not qualify as a guilty pleasure. One medium-sized spud of sweet potato supplies as much as 15 % of the recommended daily value for vitamin B-6.
Asides from vitamin B-6, sweet potatoes also contain lots of fibre, magnesium, and vitamin A. Vitamin B-6 also helps the human body to regulate glycogen, which is then stored energy housed in your muscles and liver.
11. Green peas
Green peas are one of my favorite vegetables because they are full of fibre and vitamins C and A. These vegetables also supply a good amount of vitamin B-6.
If you have a bag of frozen carrots and peas on hand, you’ll never be in lack of a delicious vegetable side dish that even children will eat.
12. Bananas
Banana is the happy fruit, maybe because they are easily transportable and very delicious to eat. One medium-sized banana carries vitamin B-6.
Some of the other things vitamin B-6 does is to aid the production of norepinephrine and serotonin, the chemicals which aid nerve function and promote the transmission of signals within the human brain.
13. Chickpeas
Legumes may not be your favourite foods, but options such as chickpeas offer significant amounts of vitamin B-6 with each serving. Chickpeas are also high in protein and fibre.
Chickpeas can be purchased fresh, canned or even dried. All three options are easy to use.
14. Breakfast cereal
This may seem very obvious because the commercials make sure to mention the nutritional values of our favourite cereals.
Some processed foods, like breakfast cereals, are fortified with different nutrients that can not be found in the average American diet lacks.
15. Avocado
Did you know that avocados are a type of berry? yes, they are. A lot of people like to think of them as a vegetable, but that’s very wrong.
Avocados are very delicious and packed with lots of amazing nutrition. This highly versatile food is rich in vitamins B-6 and C, as well as fibre and healthy fats.
Would you like to share your favourite recipes that contain any of these vitamin B-6 foods? please do so in the comments section provided below.
