Podcast episode 115 (in German)
Vitamin B6 – the limit was halved without a single new measurement
October 23, 2026
The European upper limit for vitamin B6 is now 12 milligrams a day; before, it was 25. In between lie 23 years and not a single new study in humans. This episode shows how that fits together and what it means for the jar in your cupboard.
What it is about
Both limits are based on the same English case-control study from 1987 in women from a clinic for premenstrual complaints. In 2000, the committee took the average of the doses, around 100 milligrams, and divided by 4; in 2023, the authority took the lowest group, 50 milligrams, and again divided by 4. The critical effect is peripheral neuropathy, that is, tingling, numbness and burning in the hands and feet; how it arises is unknown. Nobody reaches the limit through food; it is about high-dose supplements. The episode shows that such products are rare outliers, how you can recognize them by the percentage on the back of the pack, and that the halving was not a discovery but more cautious arithmetic.
Key points
- In European surveys, adults take in on average 1.5 to 3.1 milligrams a day through food, the top 5 percent up to 5 — well below the limit of 12.
- In the 1987 study of 172 women, 48 percent in the lowest group, under 50 milligrams for at least half a year, reported complaints consistent with neuropathy.
- The human data yield 12.5 milligrams, a 1978 experiment in beagles over around 107 days yields 11.7; the rounded midpoint is the new limit of 12.
- Among 2,210 products from 24 EU countries, half are between 1 and 2 milligrams, the average is 3; 29 products, 1.4 percent, exceed 20 milligrams.
- The reference value behind the percentage on the label is 1.4 milligrams; 12 milligrams would be around 850 percent, and in sports products the Bavarian food safety authority found 3,500 percent.
- There is no uniform European maximum level for supplements: the Netherlands has set 21 milligrams, while in Germany there is only a proposal of 0.9 milligrams per daily dose.
- In one case report, the complaints after 2 years on 75 milligrams disappeared within 3 months of stopping and returned on 50 milligrams after 4 months.
Where the data stop
The limit hinges on a single study with self-reported complaints from one clinic. The panel says so itself and calls the data limited; the factor of 4 stands for this uncertainty and for the fact that lower doses act more slowly, not more harmlessly. That is why duration counts as much as amount, and a value from which harm reliably begins could not be determined from human data. How often something happens at 20 milligrams cannot be quantified, because nobody has collected it prospectively.
The reports from the Netherlands, 224 up to the end of 2023, are also counted self-reports and not representative: since the limit came into force there in October 2018 they have become less frequent, but they keep coming, at lower doses, and the daily dose explains only 15 percent of the variation in blood levels. After stopping, the complaints often improve, but not always completely. Anyone who notices tingling in the hands or feet should have it checked; anyone taking a supplement on medical advice does not stop it because of an episode.
Listen (in German)
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Published on October 23, 2026.
The topic in the database
- All B vitamins in bioactive form – the basis for energy metabolism and nerves.Vitamin B complex
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Information only, not medical advice and not a usage or dosage recommendation. Prescription-only and unapproved substances belong in the hands of a physician. Last updated: 2026-09-22.