Your body naturally produces the amino acid homocysteine. Unlike other amino acids, it’s not used to build proteins. Instead, it’s converted into other essential substances. Folate and vitamin B-12 help turn it into SAMe, while vitamin B-6 is needed to change it into the amino acid cysteine. As the vitamins do their jobs, your levels of homocysteine go down. If you don’t get an adequate amount of all three vitamins, the amount of homocysteine in your bloodstream increases. High levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Track the amount of folate, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12 you consume for several days to see if you’re getting the recommended daily intake. Your daily diet should provide 400 micrograms of folate, 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B-12 and 1.3 milligrams of vitamin B-6. Beginning at the age of 51, the requirements for vitamin B-6 increase to 1.7 milligrams for men and 1.5 milligrams for women.
Eat a bowl of enriched cereal for breakfast. It’s hard to find foods that contain all three vitamins, but fortified cereals have about 25 to 100 percent of your recommended daily intake of folate, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12. When you add a half cup of low-fat milk, you’ll gain more vitamin B-12.
Increase the amount of folate in your diet. Eat just 1 cup of cooked beans, lentils, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, corn or peas and you’ll get at least 20 percent of your recommended daily intake. Snack on an orange to gain 10 percent of your daily recommended intake of folate.
Boost your vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12 intake by eating fresh or canned tuna, salmon, halibut, turkey or pork chops. You’ll get at least 30 percent of your recommended daily intake of both vitamins from a 3-ounce serving.
Raise your intake of vitamin B-6. One baked potato has almost half your recommended daily intake. One sweet potato, one banana and 1 cup of cooked spinach, sweet red peppers and beans all contain 30 percent of the recommended daily intake.
Include low-fat sources of vitamin B-12 in your diet. Besides enriched grains, the only natural sources of vitamin B-12 are animal products, so eat non-fat milk products. One cup of non-fat milk, yogurt and cottage cheese supplies about 25 percent of your recommended daily intake.
Take supplements if necessary to increase the amount of folate, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12 you consume daily. While a multivitamin could be helpful, it may be best to purchase individual vitamin supplements that contain the amount you need for each vitamin.
- The only way to know whether you have high homocysteine is through a simple blood test. Some medications and medical conditions, such as kidney disease, may increase your levels of homocysteine. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any concerns.
- Even though increasing your intake of these B vitamins may lower homocysteine, research to date has not confirmed a connection between taking more vitamins and lowering risk of heart disease.
- Excessive amounts of folate can hide a deficiency in vitamin B-12 and large supplemental doses of vitamin B-6 may cause pain and numbness in your arms and legs. Never consume more than 1,000 micrograms of folate or 100 milligrams of vitamin B-6 daily unless under the supervision of your healthcare provider.
- New York University Langone Medical Center: Homocysteine
- Circulation: American Heart Association Science Advisory: Homocysteine, Diet and Cardiovascular Diseases
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Folate
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin B-12
- Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin B-6
- USDA Agricultural Research Service: Nutrient Data: Reports By Single Nutrients
- Harvard School of Public Health: Three B Vitamins -- Folate, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12
- Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images