B COMPLEX : VITAMIN B6 (PYRIDOXINE)
The B-complex family of vitamins has been studied extensively. It has been shown that animals and humans who are low in B vitamins have much less resistance to infections. Many of my patients who have suffered from recurrent infections have had low blood levels of some of the B complex vitamins.
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Vitamin B6 has the most immune-system bolstering functions of all the B vitamins. Years ago we found that tuberculosis patients treated with the drug INH (isoniazid) developed severe immune-system problems. It turned out that the INH was altering B6 levels in the patients, which, in turn, upset their immune systems.
B6 (as well as B2 and B3, to a lesser extent) is important for the synthesis of nucleic acids and protein. The immune system, as well as the rest of the body, is absolutely dependent on adequate supplies of nucleic acids and protein. Without them, your immune defenses would quickly falter.
A deficiency of B6 leads to shrinking of the thymus gland. It’s in the thymus gland, as I pointed out, that the sturdy germ-fighting T-cells receive their programming, so a healthy thymus is a vital part of your defense system. A lack of B6 can harm your immune system in others ways, too, such as prompting a decrease in the total number of T-cells in the blood and upsetting the ratio of T-cells to B-cells.
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