Duration 23:42

Can too much riboflavin cause headaches

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Published 12 Apr 2021

Celeste asked in the Vitamins and Minerals 101 Premium Forum: "I had a riboflavin deficiency and supplemented with riboflavin USP drops and it gave me headaches. Even after I stopped I still have headaches. Why would riboflavin give someone headaches?" Condensed answer (see video for details): While I would not rule out a coincidence here, it is possible that under conditions that would oxidize riboflavin (vitamin B2), especially intense exposure to light, that high-dose riboflavin could generate oxidation products that are harmful, that fixing a riboflavin deficiency too fast would lead to temporary overcompensation in certain metabolic pathways, or that riboflavin could draw other B vitamins into certain pathways and take them away from others. In these cases it might be analogous to high-dose folate driving B12 into the methylation pathway and away from the clearance of methylmalonyl CoA, which can precipitate B12-deficiency neurological degeneration in some people. In this case, perhaps B-2 is taking niacin away from NADPH for glutathione recycling or is otherwise drawing B vitamins away from important roles. High-dose riboflavin appears very safe, but I still think it is better to err on the side of the higher end of what occurs in food unless you have a reason to use high doses. Here are the cliff notes I mentioned in the video: https://chris-masterjohn-phd.myshopify.com/products/the-vitamins-and-minerals-101-cliff-notes

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