Is Vitamin B6 a COVID-19 miracle vitamin?
“In addition to washing your hands, food and nutrition are among the first lines of defense against COVID-19 virus infection. Food is our first medicine and the kitchen is our first pharmacy,” says Dr. Thanutchaporn Kumrungsee, a food scientist, adding:
“Recently, many scientists have published papers regarding the role of diet and nutrients in the protection against COVID-19.
However, very few scientists are paying attention to the important role of vitamin B6.”
Dr. Kumrungsee is part of a group of scientists delving into the importance of Vitamin B6 in the fight against COVID-19.
Vitamin B6 is commonly found in fish, beef liver and other organ meats, potatoes, and other starchy vegetables, and non-citrus fruits.
It is usually attributed to healthy brain development, but Dr. Kumrungsee and co.’s study finds that this specific vitamin may be beneficial to the body’s immune system.
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Vitamin B6 is a known anti-thrombosis and anti-inflammation nutrient. Serious cases of COVID-19 were susceptible to blood clots and cytokine complications.
These complications, known as “cytokine storms”, happen when the immune system dangerously goes into overdrive and starts attacking even the healthy cells.
Aside from this, blood clots linked to Covid-19 can block capillaries, which could have detrimental effects on vital organs like the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.
“Vitamin B6 has a close relationship with the immune system. Its levels always drop in people under chronic inflammation such as obesity, diabetes, and heart diseases. We can see from the news that obese and diabetic people are at high risk for Covid-19,” Kumrungsee said.
The group is reportedly looking forward to clinical trials that would test their hypothesis.
Aside from testing the vitamin’s response in coronavirus immunity, the study also aims to examine if vitamin B6 exerts protection against novel types of virus infection and pneumonia which will be encountered in the future.
Dr. Kumrungsee says that at present, there is little information regarding the protective role of nutrients against pneumonia and lung diseases.
The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition (Kumrungsee et al., 2020).
