These Two Nutrients May Have A Bigger Role In Metabolic Health Than Expected

B vitamins are usually associated with energy. But new research1 suggests two of them may have a connection to something much bigger: cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health.

The study looked at cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a framework that recognizes how closely conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity can overlap.

Researchers analyzed health and dietary data from 14,576 U.S. adults with CKM syndrome who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2020.

They looked at six B vitamins: B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, and folate.

The researchers were particularly interested in advanced CKM syndrome, which includes stages 3 and 4. At these stages, someone has either a very high risk of cardiovascular disease or established cardiovascular disease.

Participants reported what they ate during two separate 24-hour dietary recalls, allowing researchers to estimate their intake of each B vitamin.

The researchers found that people who reported eating more vitamin B2 and B6 were less likely to have advanced CKM syndrome than those with the lowest intakes.

Among the 14,576 adults included in the analysis, those with the highest B2 intake had 27% lower odds of advanced CKM syndrome compared with those with the lowest intake. For B6, the difference was 26%.

Niacin showed a smaller association as well, while B1 and folate weren't consistently linked to advanced CKM syndrome once the researchers accounted for factors like age, income, smoking, and diet quality.

When the researchers looked at all six B vitamins together, B2 and B6 again had the strongest relationship with advanced CKM syndrome. A similar pattern showed up in the separate Chinese group, too.

B2 and B6 both function as cofactors, meaning certain enzymes can't do their work without them, including the enzymes that convert food into usable energy.

The two vitamins also help the body manage oxidative stress and inflammation, which are involved in cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic problems.

That gives researchers a plausible explanation, but the study can't establish cause and effect. It was cross-sectional, meaning diets and health were measured at roughly the same point in time.

Both vitamins are found in plenty of everyday foods. B2, also called riboflavin, is found in foods such as dairy, eggs, meat, and some leafy greens. B6 is found in poultry, fish, meat, potatoes, chickpeas, and other foods.

The study only counted B vitamins from food, not from supplements, which the researchers note may have understated people's total intake.

So it doesn't tell us whether getting these vitamins from food or a supplement would have a different effect. For now, the finding simply adds to the case for getting enough B vitamins as part of an overall nutrient-rich diet.

And that bigger picture matters. The researchers accounted for overall diet quality, along with factors such as physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use.

Higher dietary intakes of B2 and B6 were associated with lower odds of advanced cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome in a large U.S. group, and a similar pattern appeared in a separate Chinese cohort.

That's an interesting clue, not proof that these vitamins protect against disease.