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Ken & Betty Rowland wrote: > > Is there some conflict between vitamin B-6 and some PD meds? > > Ken Rowland When levodopa was first used as a medication to treat Parkinson’s disease, it was soon discovered that absorption of levodopa could be blocked by vitamin B6. So people using levodopa were advised to avoid vitamins containing B6 and foods containing large amounts of B6. Later, levodopa was combined with carbidopa (Sinemet, Sinemet CR) or benserazide (Madopar). The carbidopa and benserazide "protect" the levodopa, so foods containing vitamin B6 are no longer a concern. Vitamin supplements containing more than 15 mg of B6 should be taken separately from Sinemet or Madopar by at least an hour – that amount of B6 could overwhelm the protective effect, and interfere with levodopa absorption. Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD -- "Ask the Parkinson Dietitian" http://www.parkinson.org/ Author: "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease" "Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy for Parkinson's disease" http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn