Vitamin B6 as a natural antihistamine - dosages and food sources

Vitamin B6 is essential for healthy skin and a normal functioning immune system. It is a natural antihistamine with the ability to reduce histamine intolerance (along with vitamin C), making it helpful for people with allergies and histamine intolerance. Vitamin B6 helps the liver detoxify chemicals and it can reduce the toxic effects of salicylates, benzoic acids, food preservatives, monosodium glutamate (MSG), alcohol and heavy metals. Vitamin B6 is essential for normal fat metabolism and, as a result, a deficiency in vitamin B6 can raise cholesterol levels and cause fatty liver.

Vitamin B6: dosages and food sources

 Vitamin B6 (also known as)

Supplement dosages (milligrams per day)

Eczema-friendly food sources

Pyridoxine

Pyridoxamine

Pyridoxal

Pyridoxine hydrochloride

Pyridoxal-5- phosphate

Infants (AI)

0.1–0.3 mg from breastmilk or hypoallergenic (dairy-free) infant formula

Children + teens

1–4 years: 0.5–3 mg 
5–12 years: 1–6 mg 
13–18 years: 1.3–6 mg

Adults

RDI: 1.3–2 mg Therapeutic: 6–10 mg

150 g (5 oz) grilled salmon: 1.2 mg* 1 medium potato: 0.7 mg
1 cup sweet potato: 0.6 mg^
1 cup mashed potato: 0.5 mg

1 cup cooked lentils: 0.45 mg
150 g (5 oz) cooked beef: 0.44 mg
150 g (5 oz) cooked chicken/turkey: 0.4 mg 100 g (3 1⁄2oz) Brussels sprouts: 0.37 mg
1 medium banana: 0.35 mg*
80 g (3 oz) buckwheat: 0.32 mg
1 fillet (127 g) flatfish/flounder: 0.3 mg
60 g (2 1⁄2 oz) rolled (porridge) oats: 0.19 mg 30 g (1 oz) raw cashews: 0.16 mg

AI: Adequate Intake as per Australian Government guidelines.
RDI: Recommended Daily Intake as per Australian Government guidelines, shown on the table as the lowest dose. The higher range covers the therapeutic range.
^Contains salicylates (not suitable during weeks 1–3 of the FID Program)
* Contains amines

Note: as B-group vitamins are acidic, avoid mega-doses above 15 mg. In order to prevent deficiencies of other B vitamins, take vitamin B6 in supplement form along with other B vitamins, not as a single supplement.

Products 

At Eczema Life, we recommend nutritionist Karen Fischer's low food chemical program (The Eczema Detox) along with additive-free supplements for skin health and wellbeing. Click on the images to view more details: