Should you count on Coco Pops for your vitamin B6?

With low levels linked to more serious Covid infection...

Could vitamin B6 help ward off coronavirus? That’s the thinking behind a new study at Hiroshima university in Japan. Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, is found in many foods, particularly red meat, chicken and fish, as well as some nuts, fruit and veg — but there are concerns that the trend towards a plant-based diet means many of us are deficient in this nutrient, which plays a key role in about 100 chemical reactions within the body.

For instance, B6 is involved in converting what we eat into energy, and also plays a part in producing haemoglobin, which carries oxygen around in our blood.

The nutrient is also important to keep our immune system robust, helping produce immune cells and regulating their movement in our intestine, where 70 per cent of all the body’s immune cells are found.

It also boosts the activity of our natural killer cells, which fight viral infections by destroying infected cells.

In the new study, the researchers will investigate whether lower B6 levels mean people with chronic inflammation as a result of conditions such as heart disease and obesity are more at risk of severe Covid-19 if they catch it.

Vitamin B6, one of eight B vitamins we need, is water soluble, so we can’t store it in our bodies and must get it regularly from our diet (women need 1.2 mg daily, men, 1.4 mg).

With more people turning to a plant-based diet, lack of B6 could become a problem, suggests Sophie Medlin, chair of the British dietetic Association for london and director of City dietitians.

‘Also, as we age, often the variety in our diets reduces as we get into established habits, so might not include enough of the foods which are a rich source of B6.

‘But without adequate amounts, we’re at a higher risk of catching viruses and infections and are less able to cope with the ones we do catch.’

Here is our guide to foods that are rich in vitamin B6 (some of which might not always be good for you). The percentages given are based on the proportion of a woman’s recommended daily amount of vitamin B6.