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Promote energy with B-1
Vitamin B-1, also known as thiamin, plays a key role in your body's energy production. As part of the B-vitamin complex, it acts as a catalyst, helping to convert carbohydrates into the energy your body uses. On average, you need about 0.5 mg of thiamin for every 1,000 calories of energy burned.
Thiamin can also "pump you up" by keeping your nerves, muscles, and heart working properly. Like other water-soluble vitamins that get excreted from the body in your urine, you must obtain thiamin from your diet.
A thiamin deficiency causes the dreaded beriberi, which in Sri Lankan means "I can't, I can't." Beriberi causes memory loss, muscle weakness, fatigue, appetite loss, and leg pain.
Quick Facts About Vitamin B-1 (Thiamin)
- RDA is 1.1 to 1.5 mg per day for healthy adults.
- Some foods rich in thiamin are beans, brewer's yeast, lean pork, milk, peanuts, soy beans, wheat germ, and whole-grain products.
- Thiamin deficiency is associated with cardiovascular and mental disorders.
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You May Need More B-1 if You Have (or Have Had)
- A history of excessive alcohol or drug use
- Chronic malnutrition
- Gastrointestinal disorders including: diarrhea, vomiting, dysentery, ulcerative colitis
- A portion of your gastrointestinal tract removed
- Recent injury or severe burns
- Recent surgery
- Folate, pyridoxine, or cobalamin deficiency
- Dialysis treatments
Or if You're
- A woman who's pregnant or breastfeeding
- Over age 55
- Under excessive stress
What Works Best -- and Worst -- with B-1
- B vitamins compete in your intestines for absorption, so never take high doses of a single B vitamin without increasing the amount you take of all other B vitamins. For example, if you're taking double the RDA of thiamin, you should double the RDA of all other B vitamins.
- B complex supplements often have higher levels of thiamin and weight-gain supplements often include thiamin to help convert the extra calories into energy.
- The effectiveness of thiamin is increased when it is used in conjunction with other B vitamins and Magnesium.
- Thiamin is not as effective if used with alcohol or if there is a deficiency of vitamin B.
Forms Available
- Individual supplements from 5 mg to 500 mg tablets
- B-complex supplements in a wide range of potencies
- A multivitamin supplement
- Injectable forms administered by your doctor or nurse
- As brewer's yeast in a low-potency food supplement
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Chemical Forms
- Thiamin hydrochloride
- Thiamin mononitrate
Comments On Vitamin B-1
- Common forms of B-1 are thiamin hydrochloride and thiamin mononitrate.
- The most you can absorb per day is about 5 mg of thiamin and your body has about 25 to 30 mg stored.
- Thiamin is converted into a vital coenzyme called thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP).
- TPP helps in the regulation of nerve tissues and the development of neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine.
- Remember that all B vitamins should be kept in constant ratios. This means that if you double the RDA of B-1, you should double the RDA of all other B vitamins. This is to ensure that the intestine absorbs the correct proportions of each B vitamin.
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Known Benefits of Vitamin B-1
- Essential for proper growth and development
- Helps metabolize carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
- Helps treat thiamin-responsive anemia
- Helps maintain healthy mucous membranes, the body's first line of defense against germs
- Supports the nervous system, muscles, and heart
- Treats beriberi
Unproven Claims
- Decreases lead toxicity
- Helps alleviate neurological disorders
- Helps treat heart disease
- Large doses can act as an insect repellent
Vitamin B-1 May Prevent These Signs of Deficiency
Typically thiamin deficiency has characteristics of both wet and dry beriberi.- Dry Beriberi (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome) -- characterized by neurological dysfunction with symptoms including:
- Loss of feelings in arms and legs
- Loss of muscle coordination
- Jerking eye movements
- Fever
- Abnormal staggering gait
- Eye paralysis
- Mental deterioration
- Coma
- Amnesia
- Death
- Wet Beriberi -- characterized by cardiovascular symptoms including:
- Increased heart workload
- Edema (swelling due to excess fluid in the body)
- Heart failure
- Trouble breathing
- Restlessness
- Agitation
- Death
Recommended Dosage Range for Vitamin B-1
- Our pharmacists suggest that healthy adults may take between 1.5 to 50 mg to supplement a well-balanced diet.
- RDA values were set as the minimum needed to offset deficiency or disease, not as an actual value needed for optimum health.
- In the United States, the average consumption of thiamin is:
- For men, 1.75 mg per day
- For women, 1.05 mg per day
- For children (ages 1 to 5), 1.12 mg per day
- Consult your physician before starting any high dose supplement regimen.
Dietary Sources
Food Tips
- Heat destroys a portion of thiamin foods.
- Basic substances (such as baking soda) degrade thiamin.
- Frozen foods preserve most of the vitamin B-1 found in foods, though some thiamin is lost in drip fluid upon thawing.
- Foods should be stored in dark containers because they lose their thiamin content if exposed to ultraviolet light and sulfites.
- Raw fish, tea, coffee, and other products may contain substances (thiaminases or antithiamines) that destroy thiamin.
- Cook vegetables in a small amount of water, briefly, to preserve nutrient content.
- Grain hulls are rich in thiamin.
| Foods High in Vitamin B-1 | Serving Size | Amount of Vitamin B-1 | Units |
|---|
Bagel
Beans, black
Beef liver
Green peas
Ham
Oatmeal
Orange
Peanuts
Pecans
Pork, roasted
Potato
Raisins
Sunflower seeds
Wheat germ
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1
1/2 cup
3 ounces
1/2 cup
3 ounces
1 cup
1
3 ounces
3 ounces
3 ounces
1 medium
1 cup
3 ounces
1/4 cup
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0.21
0.21
0.23
0.21
0.82
0.26
0.13
0.36
0.27
0.52
0.22
0.21
1.95
0.55
|
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
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When and How to Take Vitamin B-1
- Take with food or after meals to enhance absorption.
- Large daily doses should be divided into three to four smaller doses throughout the day for better absorption.
- Swallow tablets whole with a full glass of liquid.
What to Take with Vitamin B-1
- B vitamins compete for absorption in your intestines. Therefore, each dose of B-1 should be taken with a proportionate amount of the other B vitamins (i.e., if you are consuming double the RDA of one B vitamin, you should take double the RDA of the other B vitamins).
- Magnesium aids in the conversion of thiamine to its active form.
- Pyridoxine and cobalamin deficiencies are associated with thiamin deficiency.
- Folate deficiency lowers thiamin absorption.
What Not to Take with Vitamin B-1)
- Baking soda degrades thiamin (but not when found in baked goods).
- Foods and beverages with carbonates and citrates decrease thiamin's effect.
- Tobacco decreases absorption of B-1.
- Alcohol requires B-1 for metabolism, but simultaneously decreases the absorption of B-1.
Storage
- Keep vitamin B-1 in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and air.
- Don't freeze vitamin B-1.
- Don't store it in your bathroom medicine cabinet. Heat and moisture may make it less effective.
- Store safely out of children's reach.
Recommended Daily Allowance
| AGE/GROUP | RDA |
|---|
Infants
0 to 6 months
6 to 12 months
1 to 3 years
4 to 6 years
7 to 10 years
Males
11 to 14 years
15 to 18 years
19 to 24 years
25 to 50 years
51+ years
Females
11 to 14 years
15 to 18 years
19 to 24 years
25 to 50 years
51+ years
Pregnant
Lactating
1 to 6 months
6 to 12 months
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mg (milligrams)
0.3
0.4
0.7
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.0
1.5
1.6
1.6
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Warnings
Consult a physician before use or do not use vitamin B-1 if:- You're about to start a high-dose supplement program.
May Have Interactions with the Following
- Alcohol: decreases absorption of riboflavin.
- Calcium level: can modify the metabolism and function of thiamin.
- Diuretics: decrease the availability of thiamin.
- Drugs that cause intestinal motility: decrease the availability of thiamin.
- Drugs that cause nausea: decrease the availability of thiamin.
- Tetracyclines: long-term use interferes with absorption and may cause riboflavin deficiency.
Side Effects
- An intake of several hundred mgs may also cause you to become drowsy.
Signs of Overdose
- Wheezing, usually after an intravenous dose.
- Occasionally, large doses of thiamin have caused hypersensitive reactions resembling anaphylactic shock, an immune reaction that can lead to a potentially fatal drop in your blood pressure. SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY.
- An overdose of thiamin is not known to be dangerous; oral doses as high as 500 mg per day for one month have had no toxic effects.
What to Do in Case of Overdose
- If you are concerned about the side effects of thiamin contact your healthcare provider.
- If you are experiencing any symptoms of anaphylactic shock (e.g., faintness, chills, loss of consciousness, itching, respiratory difficulty, and hives), SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY.
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