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# Vitamin B6 supplements help hypertriglyceridemia
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/vitamin_b6_hypertriglyceridemia_082620121013/
- Published: 2012-08-26T11:10:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:59:24.000Z
- Description: Among 85 men with high triglycerides assigned to lysine, vitamin B6, both, carnitine or placebo, only vitamin B6 at 50 mg a day lowered triglycerides, by 36.6 mg/mL at six weeks, and it also cut total and HDL cholesterol by about 10 percent.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Vitamins, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

By David Liu,PHD

Sunday Aug 26, 2012 ([foodconsumer.org](http://www.foodconsumer.org/)) -- A new study in Clinical Therapeutics suggests that taking vitamin b6 supplements may help improve hypertriglyceridemia - a condition in which triglycerides in the blood are abnormally high.

The study led by Sani Hlais, MD of American University of Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon and colleagues showed that a 6-week vitamin b6 supplementation was correlated with a significant reduction in in plasma triglycerides in men at an average age of 50 years.

The researchers actually tested lysine, carnitine supplements in addition to vitamin b6 because these ingredients are suspected to play a role in the fat metabolism associated with hypertriglyceridemia. But only vitamin b6 was found to be effective in lowering triglycerides.

**The study**

For the study, 85 men with hypertriglyceridemia were assigned one of 5 treatments, lysine (1 g per day), vitamin b6 (50 mg per day), lysine (1 g per day) plus vitamin b6 (50 mg per day), carnitine (1 g per day) or placebo for 12 weeks. Lipid profile including triglycerides, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL, bad cholesterol) and high density lipoprotein (HDL, good cholesterol) and fasting plasma glucose were measured at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks.

Vitamin b6 supplementation resulted in a 10 percent reduction in total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. It also lowered plasma triglycerides by 36.6 mg/mL at 6 weeks while the placebo increased triglycerides by 18 mg/mL. There was no change in the lipid profile in those who received the lysine and carnitine supplements or the lysine and vitamin b6 combo.

The researchers concluded "Vitamin B6 supplementation in these male patients with hypertriglyceridemia reduced plasma total cholesterol and HDL-C concentrations."

**Other ways to lower plasma triglycerides**

Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular events and acute pancreatitis, according to Robert C. Ho of the Tripler Army Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program in Honolulu, Hawaii and colleagues.

In addition to vitamin b6, other measures are available to help Hypertriglyceridemia and protect against heart disease.

Ho et al. reported in The Journal of American Family Physician that prescription drugs statins can lower triglyceride levels by 20 to 40 percent, fibrates can lower triglycerides by 40 to 60 percent and raise HDL cholesterol levels by 15 to 25 percent, niacin, another vitamin, can lower triglyceride levels by 30 to 50 percent and raise HDL-cholesterol by 20 to 30 percent and in the meantime rduce LDL-cholesterol by 5 to 25 percent, and fish oil which is high in the essential fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) can lower triglyceride levels by 30 to 50 percent.

**More information on vitamin B6**

Vitamin b6 benefits include more than fighting hypertriglyceridemia. 

This vitamin may help prevent other diseases or medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, impaired immune function, particularly in the elderly, cognitive decline in the elderly or Alzheimer's disease patients, and kidney stones, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

Additionally, vitamin b6 supplements may help treat diseases or conditions including side effects of oral contraceptives, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), depression, morning sickness (nausea and vomiting in pregnancy), and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Vitamin b6 deficiency may affect nervous system function, red blood cell formation and function, niacin formation, hormone function, and nucleic acid synthesis to say the least. Alcoholics are believed at high risk for vitamin b6 deficiency.