What is Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), and What Does it Do?
Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, helps the body turn food into energy. It’s found in poultry, beans, fortified breads, and more. It’s also found in multivitamins or as an individual supplement.
hiamine is an essential nutrient that all tissues of the body need to function properly. Thiamine was the first B vitamin that scientists discovered. This is why its name carries the number 1. Like the other B vitamins, thiamine is water-soluble and helps the body turn food into energy.
You can find it in:
- a variety of foods
- individual supplements
- multivitamins
What does Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) do?
Thiamine helps support many functions within the body, including the nervous system, heart, and brain. Thiamine is important for the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is a molecule that transports energy within cells. It supports Trusted Source many functions in the body, including muscle contractions and the movement of signals from the brain.
What are the symptoms of thiamine deficiency?
A thiamine deficiency can impact many different functions of your body, and may cause:
- muscle weakness
- weight loss
- confusion
- short term memory loss
Thiamine deficiency can also lead to two major health problems: beriberi and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
Beriberi affects:
- breathing
- eye movements
- heart function
- alertness
It’s caused by a buildup of pyruvic acid in the bloodstream, which is a side effect of your body not being able to turn food into fuel.
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is technically two different disorders. Wernicke’s disease affects the nervous system and causes visual impairments, a lack of muscle coordination, and mental decline. If Wernicke’s disease is left untreated, it can lead to Korsakoff syndrome. Korsakoff syndrome permanently impairs memory functions in the brain.
Either disease can be treated with thiamine injections or supplements. This may help with vision and muscular difficulties. However, thiamine can’t mend permanent memory damage caused by Korsakoff syndrome.
Deficiency risk factors
While thiamine deficiency is rare in healthy adults, it’s more common in people living with certain medical conditions. That’s because certain conditions or treatments may impact thiamine levels in the body, including:
- Chron’s disease
- anorexia
- alcohol use disorder
- HIV and AIDS
- dialysis
- loop diuretics, such as digoxin and phenytoin
What foods contain thiamine?
Most people can get all the thiamine they need from food. There are no real risk factors associated with thiamine consumption.
You can find thiamine in:
- pork
- poultry
- peas
- nuts
- dried beans
- soybeans
- whole grain cereals
- lentils
- legumes
- bread
- rice
- yeast
Many whole grain products are fortified with thiamine, such as:
- cereal
- bread
- rice
- pasta
Benefits of thiamine supplements
In some cases, a doctor may recommend adding thiamine supplements into your diet, either through the use of a multivitamin that contains thiamine or as a standalone supplement.
In addition to helping manage a thiamine deficiency, thiamine supplements may be recommended to help manage or reduce the risk of some health conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease or cataracts.
Thiamine supplements are also used to treat people going through major alcohol withdrawal.
Make sure you consult your doctor before starting a vitamin regimen, especially when using thiamine to treat a deficiency. To keep a balance of B vitamins in your system, doctors often suggest B complex vitamins over individual B supplements for healthy adults.
