Unless you are a biochemist or a nutritionist, chances are, you have never come across the term P5P. However, it is one of those key nutrients that directly impact your overall health and wellness. P5P is an acronym for Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate. It is a type of coenzyme that works with other enzymes to help them accomplish their tasks more easily and efficiently.
Vitamin B6, after going through several biochemical processes in our liver, produces P5P. But when P5P is taken in its purest form, our body can easily avoid the conversion process in our liver that makes P5P from vitamin B6. It saves a lot of energy and at the same time, provides more benefits if consumed along with another essential nutrient that is magnesium.
Before we move on to discussing the P5P benefits, let's find out about the food sources of P5P or Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate.
As mentioned earlier, P5P is a byproduct of vitamin B6. So, the sources of vitamin B6 are responsible for P5P as well. Foods like bread, pork, beef (especially the liver) non-citrus fruits are healthy sources of P5P.
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin which cannot be produced in our body on its own. Thus we have to rely on external sources to obtain it.
Among the numerous P5P benefits, below is given a list of 5 major P5P benefits to improve your health.
1. Physical Energy:
We may not be aware of this, but P5P plays a major role in increasing metabolism at the cellular level. It partners with magnesium to increase the absorption rate at the cellular membranes. It is a significant component in improving your overall metabolism and energy. People suffering from severe fatigue have been found to have P5P deficiency. Lack of P5P in daily intake lowers your energy levels as well as your motivation. As a result, you experience fatigue. That's why if you have low levels of energy, a check-up with a doctor and find out whether you are getting enough P5P or not.
2. Mental Energy:
Among so many interesting P5P benefits, boosting mental energy is one that has attracted multiple studies and researchers. P5P has this unique ability to stabilize connectivity between the neurons of our brains. This stabilizes the hazards and relaxes the brain. People often experience distraction and lack of motivation which are direct influences of P5P deficiency. With the inclusion of P5P in the daily diet, anxiety and hypertension can be avoided. One can perform better at an intellectual level and can stay calm at conflicting situations with the correct amount of P5P in his diet.
3. Increasing Memory Capabilities:
In addition to increased mental energy, P5P is also responsible for better memory and good sleep. The benefits are derived from neurotransmission properties found in P5P. It also has neuro-protection capabilities which help to preserve the newly formed memory in the long term. Ample amount of research has been done to show the benefits of P5P consumption for a good sleep. P5P takes care of the connections between the nerves, helping the brain to reach a more calm and relaxed state which in return provides us with good sleep.
4. Preventing Anemia:
Hemoglobin is a particle present in our blood that delivers oxygen to each of our cells. One of the major P5P benefits is, it plays a key role in hemoglobin production. Absence of required hemoglobin in the blood pushes us into anemic conditions. Such conditions are especially noticeable in pregnant women and women of childbearing age. Patients of such conditions become weak and feel tired very easily due to the lack of hemoglobin.
P5P is also influential when it comes to controlling PMS symptoms. Women often go through emotional roller coasters in their PMS. P5P is responsible for raising homocysteine levels in our brains. Homocysteine is an amino acid that immensely affects our brain health. In women, it is seen to regulate moods by creating neurotransmitters.
5. Preventing heart disease:
People with vitamin B6 deficiency have a higher risk of getting heart disease or any other cardiovascular disease. It is mentioned earlier that P5P saves the liver from doing the extra task of converting P5P from vitamin B6. It is also of significance that P5P affects the blood flow in our cardiovascular system. By doing that it helps us prevent any clogging of arteries and severe damage to the heart. P5P is more efficient than any other form of pyridoxine. It also avoids the hepatic conversion process needed to create the actual enzyme, benefiting people with impaired liver function.
So, these are some of the major P5P benefits that can massively improve your health. But do remember to consult a doctor before consuming any pills or supplement of P5P. Consuming the correct amount of Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate can do wonders for your body and mind. It can even prevent certain types of cancer. Though unclear, researchers have suggested that due to its anti-inflammatory properties it can prevent cancer and other severe chronic diseases.
