Vitamin B6 RDA Table
| Life stage | RDA (mg/day) |
|---|---|
| Infant 0–6 mo | 0.1 (AI) |
| Infant 7–12 mo | 0.3 (AI) |
| 1–3 years | 0.4 |
| 4–8 years | 0.5 |
| 9–13 years | 0.8 |
| 14–18 years | 1.2 |
| 19–50 years | 1.3 |
| 51+ years | 1.7 (M) / 1.5 (F) |
| Pregnancy | 1.9 |
| Lactation | 2.0 |
| Upper limit, adult | 100 (nerve basis) |
| Food | Portion | mg | %DV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chickpeas, cooked | 1 cup | 1.1 | 65% |
| Tuna, yellowfin, cooked | 3 oz | 0.9 | 53% |
| Salmon, sockeye, cooked | 3 oz | 0.6 | 35% |
| Chicken breast, roasted | 3 oz | 0.5 | 30% |
| Potatoes, boiled | 1 cup | 0.4 | 25% |
| Banana | 1 medium | 0.4 | 25% |
| Fortified breakfast cereal | 1 serving | 0.4–2+ | varies |
| Cottage cheese, low-fat | 1 cup | 0.4 | 24% |
| Winter squash, baked | 1 cup | 0.4 | 25% |
| Tofu, firm | 3/4 cup | 0.2 | 12% |
Vitamin B6 is the enzyme worker of the B family: it is the cofactor in more than 100 enzyme reactions, mostly protein and fat metabolism, which is why the RDA scales gently with protein intake and why nearly every food group chips in. The adult numbers are small - 1.3 mg a day through age 50, then 1.7 for men and 1.5 for women - and one cup of chickpeas (1.1 mg, 65% of the Daily Value) is the single best common bite on the table.
The food list reads like a menu that writes itself: chickpeas, yellowfin tuna, salmon, chicken breast, potatoes, bananas, fortified cereal. Between the protein shelf and the produce bin, deficiency is rare enough that the classic cases come attached to other conditions - alcohol use disorder, kidney dialysis, or the tuberculosis drug isoniazid, which binds B6 outright. The signature of true deficiency is a glossy sore tongue, cracked mouth corners, and confusion in advanced cases.
B6 is also the B vitamin with a documented overdose syndrome: chronic megadoses - the 100-to-500 mg 'nerve and PMS' supplement era - caused sensory neuropathy, numbness and trouble walking, some of it long-lasting after the pills stopped. That history is exactly why the UL sits at 100 mg, and it doubles as the reason to read cereal labels: a few fortified products carry multiples of the RDA per bowl by design.
How to use
- Find your row: 1.3 mg for men and women from 19 (1.2 for teens 14-18); 1.7 mg for men and 1.5 for women past 50; 0.4-0.8 mg through childhood; pregnancy 1.9 and breastfeeding 2.0.
- Fill the row at dinner, not the drugstore: a cup of chickpeas or a tuna sandwich covers most of a day (0.9-1.1 mg each), salmon, chicken or a potato plus a banana closes the rest - any diet with protein and produce lands on 1.3 mg without planning.
- Keep supplements in the labeled lane: 10-25 mg short courses are a legitimate, obstetrician-endorsed first line for pregnancy nausea, and that is roughly the ceiling of good evidence - chronic self-dosing at 100 mg+ is the documented route to numbness and unsteady gait, and it is why the UL is what it is.
Frequently asked questions
How much vitamin B6 do I need per day?
The NIH RDA is 1.3 mg a day for men and women from 19 through 50, then 1.7 for men and 1.5 for women at 51+; teens 14-18 need 1.2; children run 0.4-0.8 mg; pregnancy 1.9 and breastfeeding 2.0. The Daily Value on labels is 1.7 mg. Deficiency is uncommon because B6 is spread across protein foods, grains and produce - the risk groups are heavy alcohol use, dialysis patients and people on isoniazid.
What foods are highest in vitamin B6?
Chickpeas lead the common list at 1.1 mg per cup (65% DV); beef liver is higher still but nobody eats it weekly. The everyday shelf: yellowfin tuna 0.9 mg per 3 ounces (53%), salmon 0.6, chicken breast 0.5, potatoes 0.4 per cup, banana 0.4 (25%), fortified breakfast cereal anywhere from 0.4 to 2 mg by label, cottage cheese and winter squash rounding it out. The pattern: B6 follows protein and starch together, so a normal dinner already covers most of a day.
Does vitamin B6 help with morning sickness?
Yes, and it is the first-line answer obstetric guidelines name: pyridoxine 10-25 mg three to four times a day has decent trial support for pregnancy nausea and vomiting, and the combination with doxylamine (a sleep-aid antihistamine) has decades of pregnancy-safety data behind it. What the evidence does not support is megadosing: the useful dose lives an order of magnitude below the 100 mg UL, so the morning-sickness case is the rare one where a B6 supplement is both mainstream medicine and modest in size.
What happens with too much B6 - and why is the UL 100 mg?
Chronic high doses cause sensory neuropathy: numbness and tingling in hands and feet, poor coordination, trouble walking - severe cases took months to improve or never fully resolved after the supplement stopped. The outbreaks came from the 100-500 mg 'nerve tonic' era, which is precisely why the UL is 100 mg (set at the dose where adult cases began appearing, with a safety margin). Food cannot get you there; fortified cereals and energy products with multiple RDAs per serving are the only kitchen items worth a label check.
Does B6 help carpal tunnel, PMS, or homocysteine?
Mixed to no. Carpal tunnel: older small trials at 100-300 mg a day looked promising, but better-controlled studies found no consistent benefit - and that dose range is exactly the neuropathy zone. PMS: evidence is weak and dose again runs high. Homocysteine: B6 (with folate and B12) genuinely lowers blood homocysteine, but large outcome trials of homocysteine-lowering found no reduction in heart disease, so the biomarker win did not convert. The honest read: B6 supplements have one strong indication - pregnancy nausea - and a shelf of retired ones.