[pronut-hiv] Intake level for vitamin B6 for people living with HIV/AIDS

["Kraak, Vivica" <VKraak@nas.edu>]

George,

Rachel has made an excellent and defensible point. 
The tolerable upper intake level (UL) for Vitamin B6 for adults is 100
mg/d according to the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of
Medicine. Please see: http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/7/296/0.pdf

The most observable adverse effect from a chronic high intake of vitamin
B6 - ironically - is sensory neuropathy. Even if an HIV+ person was
taking INH, the therapeutic dose of B6 prescribed is 10-25 mg
pyridoxine/d.  

There are so many forms of HIV-associated neuropathy that you can't
conclude it is always nutritionally related.


Vivica Kraak
Senior Program Officer
Institute of Medicine
The National Academies
500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 738
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 334-2928 
Fax: (202) 334-2316
E-mail: vkraak@nas.edu

----- George M. Carter wrote:

>From sternworks@verizon.net, you wrote:

>is the B6 a typo?
> >   Vitamin B6 260 mg

As far as I know, it is not.

It is still within the realm of safe dosing as far as peripheral
neuropathy risk goes. He also bases the dose loosely on weight, with
half the total amount listed previously for people weighing less than
140 lbs (60 kgs). (And also offset in that the B6 is not being taken
alone, but rather with the family of coenzymes critical to proper
metabolism, mitochondrial function and the turning of the wheel of the
glorious Krebs' cycle....(TCA for the new kids on the block).)

Feel free to get in touch with Dr. Kaiser--I have his email address if 
you'd like as well and he has a website (www.jonkaiser.com).

My only problem with the protocol in the US is that it is expensive and
far beyond the means of many people with HIV. In NY State, however, it
is now covered by ADAP and Medicaid.

The point, however, is that these dosages are routinely taken without 
trouble and I think represent good doses overall for a
multivtiamin/mineral formula. the next trick is sourcing the raw
material or finding a good company that will produce quality products in
terms of identity, potency, purity, dissolution, bioavailability, etc.
But then those are issues regardless of the constituent dosages.

George M. Carter