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Issue date:
June 12-14, 1998
Surprising new heart threat: B6 deficiency
Bananas, potatoes, cereal -- some of America's favorite
foods -- are full of vitamin B6. Still, one person in five is deficient in B6, and that doubles the risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a surprising new finding by Cleveland Clinic researchers.B6 helps suppress homocysteine, an artery-clogging protein. But
even when homocysteine was normal, says lead researcher Killian Robinson, B6 deficiency predicted blocked blood vessels in the heart,
brain and leg. B6 apparently protects arteries in other ways, he says: Animals with a deficiency develop heart disease. The adult RDA of B6 is 2 milligrams.
An offbeat B6 recipe Beet and Banana Salad
1 15-ounce jar
sliced beets, drained
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 small bananas,
sliced
1 Tb. olive oil
2 Tbs. orange juice
2 tsps. rice
vinegar
1 1/2 Tbs. goat cheese, crumbled
Combine all, adding goat
cheese last. Serve immediately. Serves 4. Per serving: 156
calories, 3g protein, 18g carbohydrates, 2.3g fiber, 9.3g fat (1.6g
saturated), 181mg sodium.
Photo Credit: KAREN SCHULD FOR USA WEEKEND
SCIENTIFIC SOURCES FOR THIS COLUMN (6/14/98)
B6 deficiency/heart threat
Circulation: Journal of the Am. Heart Assoc. Feb. 9, 98, Dr. Robinson author
Vitamin C /ulcers Zhang HM, Cancer 1997; 80:1897-1903
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