The Vegan Lifestyle

Vitamin B6: Health Benefits, Source, and Dosage

The body needs vitamins to function properly. Deficiency of certain vitamins can result to disease and even death. Vitamins are sometimes called as “co-enzymes” because they work together with enzymes or chemical catalyst in the body.

One of these vitamins needed by the body is the vitamin B complex. These are vitamins that are very important for the proper functioning of the body, especially for the brain and the nervous system.

One of these B complex vitamins is vitamin B6 or pyridoxine. It is used in more body functions than any other vitamin. This vitamin is extremely important in the formation of body proteins and structural compounds, chemical transmitters in the nervous system, red blood cells, and prostaglandins.

Pyridoxine is needed for the proper functioning of more than 60 different enzymes in the body. It is important in maintaining hormonal balance, and proper functioning of the immune system. Vitamin B6 is needed in the absorption of vitamin B12, and in the production of hydrochloric acid. It is crucial for brain chemistry because of its involvement in the production of all amino acid neurotransmitters.

Vitamin B6 is vital in cell multiplication, and is good for the prevention of miscarriages. When combined with magnesium, it can be used to treat Parkinson’s disease. It is also useful in the prevention and treatment of asthma, cardiovascular diseases, Chinese restaurant syndrome, diabetes, kidney stones, osteoporosis, autism, carpal tunnel syndrome, epilepsy, premenstrual syndrome, and vomiting during pregnancy.

Vitamin B6 is needed in the assimilation of vitamin C, potassium and other B vitamins. For the body to be able to utilize pyridoxine, riboflavin and magnesium are required.

Vitamin B6 deficiency symptoms are mental depression, anemia, edema, halitosis, eczema, insomnia, nervousness, sore mouth and lips, kidney stones, colon inflammation, migraines, tooth decay, and premature senility.

Rich sources of pyridoxine are brewer’s yeast, torula yeast, wheat germ, whole wheat, soybeans, walnuts, lentils, bananas, brown rice, oats, peanuts, avocadoes, eggs, and sunflower seeds.

Dosage: RDA 2.2 mg; ODA 50 mg; TDA 200-500 mg. Recommended for therapeutic dosage is 50-100 mg daily. Note: The above dosages are for adults. Dosage for children 12-17 years old should be reduced to 3/4 of the recommended dose, and for children 6-11 years old, dosage is 1/2 of the recommended.

There are health benefits in listening to Mozart. Most of Mozart’s pieces are now confirmed by scientists to have beneficial health effects on the brain and to the whole body in general.

Some studies showed that listening to Mozart can help epileptics. Seizures were significantly reduced after listening to a Mozart piece for 45 minutes a day.

This “Mozart effect” is also said to enhance fetal development, improve mathematical skills, learning, and increase the spatial IQ. It was also noted that listening to Mozart reduces stress, and arthritic pains, and improves eyesight.

The original research on Mozart-effect looked at how the K448 piano sonata affects the  spatial IQ of a person. Volunteers were instructed to visualize correctly the unfolded shape of a piece of paper that had been folded many times. It was found out that those who listened to Mozart had a performance quantified to be equivalent to an increase of eight to nine points in IQ.

It is theorized that this improvement in performance is due to the stimulation and warming up of the areas in the brain that are involved in the processing of music by those concerned with spatial perception.

Neurologists found out that a child with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy, had fewer seizures when exposed to Mozart’s K448 piano sonata for 10 minutes every hour. Another study found changes in brain activity in 23 out of 29 cases when Mozart was played.

According to Dr John Hughes of the University of Illinois, this Mozart effect may be  similar to  pulsating electrical stimulation, that brings order to malfunctioning nerve cells in the brain. Mozart’s music is brilliantly complex, and highly organized, and the cerebral cortex seem to resonate with Mozart’s music to normalize any of its sub-optimal functioning.

Part of Mozart’s genius is his repetition of themes in a way that is not boring, but instead is engaging to the listener. He repeats a theme not necessarily with the same but different notes and at the same interval. This technique in musical composition is only unique in Mozart.

These repetition and periodic changes are also  found in all brain and bodily functions. It is this repetition that acts like repetitive electrical stimulation that creates the Mozart effect.

Researchers simulated this electrical stimulation by implanting electrodes in epileptic patients,  and found out a 95 percent reduction in seizures. Researches are being conducted to verify the same effect in listening to Mozart.

Mozart soothes the beating heart. A study on the effects of music on heart-rate variability showed that listening to music may be helpful in heart diseases. The study showed that listening to Mozart or Bach lowered the  heart rate and its variability.

Listening to Mozart may ease stress in newborn babies. Mozart was played to newborn babies to help them get over the trauma of birth, and doctors are running clinical trials to ascertain whether Mozart’s music can reduce stress, heart rate and motor activity in premature babies.

These are some of the many health benefits that can be derived from listening to Mozart. Besides the health benefits stated above.  Mozart music is also beneficial to plants and animals. Plants grow taller, and bear more fruits when Mozart music is played on them. Orchids and other flowering plants bloom faster, and aquarium fish become happy and lively when exposed to Mozart music.