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Pyridoxine, Riboflavin and Gout

Jul 30, 2011 | By Kathryn Gilhuly
Pyridoxine, Riboflavin and Gout
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Pyridoxine and riboflavin belong to the B vitamin family. The B vitamins work together to help you metabolize foods, improve your liver and nervous system function and provide additional health benefits. One of the B vitamins -- niacin or B-3 -- may cause gout if you take it in high quantities for extended periods of time. Pyridoxine and riboflavin -- vitamins B-6 and B-2 -- will not likely cause or treat gout.

Gout Causes and Symptoms

Gout commonly affects the joint in your big toe and often appears without warning. You may wake up in the middle of the night and feel as if your toe is on fire. Gout may also occur in other joints, including those in your wrists, hands, knees and ankles. A build-up of uric acid in your blood sometimes forms urate crystals around your joints and causes intense pain. A diet that includes a lot of meat and more than moderate amounts of alcohol may make you susceptible to gout. Meat contains pyridoxine and riboflavin, but no reliable evidence links these vitamins to gout.

Pyridoxine

Pyridoxine, taken in therapeutic doses, offers a number of possible health benefits including treating sideroblastic anemia and a type of seizure in infants. It may also reduce your levels of homocysteine, an enzyme associated with -- but not necessarily a cause of -- heart disease. Other possibly effective uses for pyridoxine include treating premenstrual syndrome and pregnancy-related "morning sickness." It may also help prevent kidney stones, lung cancer risk in men who smoke and macular degeneration, an age-related eye disease that can lead to blindness. Pyridoxine will not increase your risk for gout but may cause brain and nerve problems if taken in amounts higher than the recommended daily allowance. It may also cause less serious side effects, including nausea, vomiting, headaches and appetite loss.

Riboflavin and Niacin

Riboflavin may help prevent -- but not treat -- migraine headaches if taken in high doses. Vitamin B-2 may also help prevent cataracts, a condition that makes your vision cloudy. Side effects of taking therapeutic doses of riboflavin include a change in urine color -- it may turn orange -- as well as an increase in urine output. Vitamin B-2 may also cause diarrhea and other side effects, but not gout. If you take niacin, sometimes prescribed in high doses to treat cholesterol, side effects such as gout, ulcers and liver damage may occur.

Gout Treatment

Gout, if left untreated, may cause permanent joint damage. Drugs to treat symptoms of gout may include over-the-counter pain reliever such as aspirin and prescription steroid such as prednisone. Your doctor might also prescribe medications to prevent uric acid build-up and to help your kidney properly excrete uric acid from your system. During a gout attack, drink lots of water, avoid alcohol and limit the amount of protein in your diet.

References

Article reviewed by Libby Swope Wiersema Last updated on: Jul 30, 2011

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