The role of vitamin B6 in sport
Let’s talk about the role of vitamin B6 in sport. When you exercise, your body sets in motion various metabolic processes to obtain the energy it requires to cope with the activity.
There are two very important such processes in which vitamin B6 plays a key role:
- Converting muscle and liver glycogen into glucose.
- Providing amino acids to be used in gluconeogenesis.
Together with the action of neurotransmitters in the nervous system, these functions allow vitamin B6 to aid you in sport.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine is used by the body in a variety of ways, supporting performance, muscle development and health:
- It acts on the metabolism of amino acids such as tryptophan, the precursor of serotonin, which is essential for maintaining a good mood and avoiding depression.
- It improves and maintains proper energy metabolism.
- It promotes enzyme, hormone and protein synthesis.
Like anything, it is important to maintain adequate levels of this vitamin, as either too little or too much can lead to health problems:
- Vitamin B6 deficit: skin disorders, anaemia, muscle problems, tremors, irritability and muscle cramps.
- Too much vitamin B6: nerve (neuropathy, sensory) and liver problems.
Vitamin B6 deficiency in sport
If pyridoxine deficiency is bad for the body, for athletes it is even worse. This mostly occurs in athletes who restrict their calorie intake to keep their weight down and do not follow a balanced diet, overindulging in poor quality food and hardly eating any fruit and vegetables.
Athletes who train intensively need a higher intake of vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin and B6 because their processes involving in obtaining energy are more active.
Being deficient in these vitamins has a direct impact on sporting performance, as exhaustion and fatigue set in earlier. This is due to a drop in aerobic power and an increased build-up of lactate in the blood.
Therefore, by following a balanced diet, you can get the necessary amounts of this vitamin. However, when your activity is very intense or you follow restrictive diets, you need to take food supplements that contain it, like Keriba Sport from Probelte Pharma.