We used to define B6 toxicity as high B6 blood test numbers as taken by a western medicine blood test with the combination of sensory, autonomic or motor symptoms. Notice the words, “we used to”. B6 Toxicity Defined
The B6T Smart Understanding B6 Toxicity with Western Research Facebook group has learned that B6 blood numbers go back to normal within two to four weeks of following the B6T Protocol, but it can take a year plus for excess B6 to be removed from nerve cells. This last statement is very significant. This states that any human being at any time can have normal B6 blood work and still be suffering neurological symptoms from B6 toxicity. The magnitude of that truth still astounds us.
As part of our definition, it’s important to understand how we get toxic on lower doses of vitamin B6. Our B6T Smart Understanding B6 Toxicity Facebook group believes that lower-dose B6 toxicity is over RDA incoming B6 combined with full B6 muscle storage coupled with a dehydrating event. This is explained in more detail in the Causes section.
We now define vitamin B6 toxicity as sensory, autonomic, and/or motor neuropathy with or without a high B6 value on a standardized western medicine blood test. It is important to have eliminated of all other possible causes for neuropathy. This sensory, autonomic and/or motor neuropathy from vitamin B6 toxicity is Small Fiber Polyneuropathy. This is explained in more detail in the Small Fiber Polyneuropathy section.
Also as part of the definition, it’s also important to discuss what B6 toxicity is NOT. As the concept of B6 toxicity grew, many alternative medicine providers tried to convince their clients that we were not absorbing vitamin B6, metabolizing the vitamin or getting B6 into our red blood cells. We are absorbing it. It is in our blood. We are metabolizing it. Alternative’s theory is that we aren’t metabolizing vitamin B6 into it’s active form of the vitamin called P5P. We know we are metabolizing into P5P because most of the major labs test for P5P when they draw the B6 blood work. In other words, we are measuring what alternative medicine says we don’t have. Finally, we are getting it into our cells. Vitamin B6 is stored as six different types of B6 in our body. The alternative medicine blood test for B6 in our red blood cells is measuring for a type of B6 that is not stored in extensive amounts in our red blood cells.
Summarized, B6 toxicity is over RDA incoming B6 combined with full B6 muscle storage coupled with a dehydrating event. B6 toxicity is NOT malabsorption. B6 toxicity is NOT unmetabolized B6. B6 toxicity is NOT the lack of B6 in our cells.