Dr. N S Ramesh

How many of us know that a deficiency of Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine can make you susceptible for heart disease, brain degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as muscle pain, depression and dragging fatigue?

Vitamin B6 is one of the most crucial vitamins for health and it’s a part of the vitamin B complex family. Now, all B vitamins, including vitamin B6, play an important role in a number of life-altering physical and psychological functions. All of them have a vital role to play in helping to maintain a healthy metabolism, nerve and liver function as well as skin and eye health, as well as good amount of energy levels.

Role of Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine has a number of derivatives, including pyridoxal, pyridoxal 5-phosphate and pyridoxamine. And all of these are involved in major body functions like movement, memory, energy use and blood flow. This is the primary reason why a vitamin B6 deficiency can show up in a range of symptoms from physical to psychological, temporary to chronic and serious.
Vitamin B6 also helps your body to

Maintain a healthy nervous system

1. To make more hemoglobin, blood cells that carry oxygen in blood
2. To provide energy from our food
3. To balance blood sugar levels
4. To act as a natural pain relief
5. To boost mood
6. To create antibodies for self-protection

Preventing a Vitamin B6 Deficiency
The recommended amount of vitamin B6 for an adult under the age of 50 is 1.3 milligrams. Normally, this amount is easy to get from your diet, assuming you are eating a balanced diet with enough calories. However, the amount the body’s requirement for vitamin B6 jumps up as you age. Experts recommend that adults over 50 get up to 1.7 milligram daily of this vitamin.

As this requirement is not met, older people get more prone to a vitamin B6 deficiency and so do malnourished children and adults. Foods like poultry, pork, nuts and beans contain high levels of vitamin B6 and you can include more of these to get the recommended dose of vitamin B6. However, since vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin, so you need to replenish your body with it daily as it doesn’t get stored in the body.

Symptoms of Vitamin B6 deficiency:
Lack of energy and chronic fatigue: Vitamin B6 helps supply your body with energy by improving your metabolism. It has a vital role to play in protein metabolism – it helps your body break down the protein that you eat and produce energy quickly. So one very important pointer that you have a vitamin B6 deficiency is when you get fatigued quickly during exercise.
Brain function decline: Vitamin B6 vitamin helps your brain communicate with other parts of the body more efficiently. So, if you have a decline in muscle efficiency it could be a sign of vitamin B6 deficiency.
High Levels of amino acid Homocysteine: High levels of amino acid Homocysteine do not cause any symptoms that you can detect by yourself but tests can tell you if you have high levels of this amino acid in your body. And these high levels are directly linked to vitamin B6 deficiency. What high levels of homocysteine can do is cause heart attacks. But vitamin B6 helps keep a check on these levels to reduce your risk for a cardiovascular event.

Other symptoms of vitamin B6 deficiency are:

1. Changes in mood, such as depression, irritability, and anxiety
2. Confusion
3. Muscle pains
4. Fatigue
5. A worsening of PMS symptoms
6. And worsening of symptoms of anemia
7. As vitamin B6 is so important for nerve function, a deficiency is linked with neuro-psychiatric disorders like seizures, migraines, and chronic pain.
8. An increased risk of heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis
9. Higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a General Physician.

Infertility is the incapability of a couple to conceive after indulging in unprotected sex multiple times over a long period. It can also be referred to as the biological inability of a man to cause conception or a woman to conceive as well as being unable to carry the pregnancy for the whole duration. Research has shown that female problems contribute to over half of all the infertility cases.

Causes-

Causes of infertility in include:

1. Ovulation Disorders – This is regarded as the most common cause of infertility in women. The disorders can be caused due to conditions like PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), Premature ovarian failure, poor quality of eggs, overactive or underactive thyroid gland and chronic conditions like cancer or AIDS.

2. Problems in fallopian tubes or uterus – Abnormalities in the uterus or fallopian tubes render the woman incapable of conceiving naturally. This might be due to conditions like Endometriosis, previous sterilization treatments or surgeries to correct past problems.

3. Medications or Treatments – There is a possibility of some treatments affecting infertility. Examples include NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy.

Diagnosis-

Usually, the initial steps for diagnosing infertility involve a review of the complete medical history of the patients as well as a physical exam. Post this check-up, some diagnostic tests are conducted for infertility. This might include-

1. Blood and Urine tests: For checking hormone levels.

2. Pap smear:For checking the health of your cervix.

3. X-ray: For outlining the internal shape of the uterus so that blockages in fallopian tubes can be identified.

Risk Factors:

1. Age – Increasing age tends to lower the quality as well as the quantity of a woman's eggs

2. Smoking – Besides damaging your cervix and fallopian tubes, smoking increases your risk of miscarriage. It is also believed to deplete your eggs at a premature stage, thereby reducing your chances of pregnancy.

3. Weight – Normal ovulation is hindered by being overweight or even significantly underweight. This is because lower levels of BMI (body mass index) reduces the frequency of ovulation, reducing the chances of pregnancy.

4. Sexual history – Sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea and Chlamydia can cause damage to the fallopian tubes, resulting in infertility.

Treatments:

Even though it is possible to restore fertility in women using only one or two therapies, a number of treatments might be required before conception is possible. Some of these treatments include:

1. Intrauterine insemination (IUI): deliberately introducing sperm into the uterus of a woman for achieving pregnancy.

2. Stimulating ovulation with fertility drugs.

3. Surgery to restore fertility.

In situations where pregnancy does not happen spontaneously, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) can be used by couples to achieve a pregnancy. It is any form of fertility treatment which involves the handling of sperm and egg. The entire ART team consists of psychologists, physicians, embryologists, nurses and lab technicians.

One common ART technique is In vitro fertilization (IVF). It is a process where an egg and sperm are manually combined in a laboratory dish, followed by transfer of embryo to the uterus.

 If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an IVF Specialist.

Sugary foods and drinks can cause tooth decay, especially if you eat them between meals. The longer the sugary food is in contact with the teeth, the more damage it can cause. The sugars found naturally in whole fruit are less likely to cause tooth decay because the sugars are contained within the structure of the fruit. Sugars are also added to a wide range of foods, such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some fizzy drinks and juice drinks. These are the sugary foods that we should cut down on.

Tips to cut down on sugars

For a healthy, balanced diet, cut down on foods and drinks containing added sugars.
Instead of sugary fizzy drinks and juice drinks, go for water or unsweetened fruit juice
Swap cakes or biscuits for a currant bun, scone or some malt loaf with low-fat spread.
If you take sugar in hot drinks or add sugar to your breakfast cereal, gradually reduce the amount until you can cut it out altogether.
Rather than spreading jam, marmalade, syrup, treacle or honey on your toast, try a low-fat spread, sliced banana or low-fat cream cheese instead.
Check nutrition labels to help you pick the foods with less added sugar, or go for the low-sugar version.
Try halving the sugar you use in your recipes - it works for most things except jam and ice cream.
Choose wholegrain breakfast cereals, but not those coated with sugar or honey.

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder that prevents the body from processing sugar or glucose. The disorder causes insufficient production of the hormone Insulin (responsible for regulating sugar into the different parts of your body); or the body's failure to respond to the hormone produced. Although no cure is available for T2DM, there are several ways in which you can help prevent Type 2 diabetes in your child. These are:

1. Get your child to indulge in some physical activity - Spending about 60 minutes of the day on physical activity can help your child to ward off Type 2 diabetes. In terms of screen time, it shouldn't be over 2 hours a day. By doing so, he or she ends up building his or her muscles as well as gets rid of extra fat from the body. An active life would also help your child to maintain an optimal body weight with obesity being a cause of this form of diabetes. Whether it's a sport like swimming, cricket or basketball, or even walking and dancing, physical activity in any form can help in preventing your child from developing Type 2 diabetes.

2. Plan a well-balanced diet for your child - Encouraging your child to have healthy foods and making right food choices can also lower his or her chances of getting this metabolic disorder. Foods high in fiber like whole grain cereals and bread, lentils, fruits, and vegetables should be consumed. Similarly, foods low in trans and saturated fats like lean meat, chicken, yogurt and cheese should be included in your child's diet. Processed foods, as well as sugary drinks, should be no-no when it comes to your child's diet.

3. Adopting proper eating habits - It is not only making the right food choices that are important but eating right as well is vital for preventing the onset of diabetes. Having meals with fix portion sizes is a habit that you need to develop in your child. Ideally, half the plate should be filled with vegetables and fruits; a quarter with lean protein like chicken; and the remaining with whole grain. To accompany the meal, make your child have one cup of no-fat or low-fat milk. Desserts like ice cream and cookies should be allowed only once or twice a week.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!