Comments on: 9 Benefits of Thiamine (Vitamin B1) + Sources, Dosage

By: Richard Geldreich

Richard Geldreich — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 01:53:39 +0000

Yup – Ed C. is absolutely right. Water soluble thiamine is almost useless for treating thiamine deficiency. Once the deficiency gets bad enough, you must use alternatives.

By: Richard Geldreich

Richard Geldreich — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 01:50:18 +0000

Just some notes for anyone who stumbles on this article:
After becoming severely thiamine deficient and having to seek help to get it treated, I feel this deficiency is massively under-diagnosed and under-researched in the US. I believe many diseases are actually B1 deficiency, or have this deficiency as a major contributing factor. It’s very difficult to correct, and past a certain point “regular” forms of supplemental thiamine become nearly useless. Eventually, mainstream medical science will likely figure this all out, but it may take them 100 years.

Some B1 deficiency symptoms: depression, low mood, low energy, exhaustion, low neurotransmitters, tingling or numb arms and legs, nerve problems, low concentration. For severe deficiency, you can expect to have problems with moving your feet (“foot drop”).

The human gut microbiota produces thiamine (B1) and other B vitamins (such as folate/B9) for the host. If you take strong gut antibiotics (like Rifaximin), to treat SIBO or before gastric surgery, or have symptoms of an unbalanced/unhealthy microbiota (such as Crohn’s, inflammatory bowl disease etc.) you may develop a very severe thiamine deficiency over time (approximately a 1-2 year timeframe after the antibiotics).

Severe thiamine deficiency is very difficult to correct, and is life threatening. Be sure to always take supplemental thiamine during and after taking gut antibiotics. I would take supplemental thiamine for several years after taking a large dose of antibiotics. (That’s right – years. Not days/months. It takes time for the gut microbiota to heal.)

Also, if you develop a severe enough B1 deficiency, regular forms of supplemental thiamine (such as thiamine mononitrate or thiamine hcl) just aren’t effective. Apparently, the enzymes needed to process these forms of thiamine become ineffective.

Short list of thiamine alternatives:
– TTFD/alithiamines (VERY strong, I had to use this topically – too hard on my GI).
This is what you use to “reboot” your body from a severe thiamine deficiency, over months.
– Benfothiamine
– Cocarboxylase (this is “active” or “coenzyme” thiamine – quite effective sublingually)

Note you should always take extra magnesium with thiamine. The enzymes involved require magnesium. If you are B1 deficient, you’re likely to be deficient in other B vitamins as well.

If in doubt, if you are deficient in *any* B’s, I would always take extra thiamine as a precaution.

By: Rob Smyth

Rob Smyth — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 08:51:17 +0000

‘Thiamine can prevent alcoholism’ – No. Please read the paper you cite more carefully. Thiamine deficiency is one of the results of chronic alcoholism. You have the link between the two completely backwards.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 16:25:20 +0000

Hi Ed, would like to know if you could tell me how much B1 a person could take? I’ve been dealing with a recently diagnosed dilation in the aorta and now I’ve been having lots of anxiety!

By: Jacksons

Jacksons — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 16:54:29 +0000

Possible breakthrough such as the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease:
“Long-Term Treatment with High-Dose Thiamine in Parkinson Disease: An Open-Label Pilot Study.” Costantini A1, Pala MI1, Grossi E2 (2015)

Conclusion: “Administration of parenteral high-dose thiamine was effective in reversing PD motor and nonmotor symptoms. The clinical improvement was stable over time in all the patients. ”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26505466

By: Troy

Troy — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 23:13:42 +0000

That’s not a breakthrough, it’s only a theory. When there’s definitive evidence for the theory it can be called a breakthrough.

By: Ed C.

Ed C. — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 19:44:31 +0000

Your needs and body ability to absorb is not equal in mg so that is not a sensible method to choose your course of action. Regarding B1 (thiamin) see my previous post, 50 mg of a fat soluble thiamin will result in 50 mg of thiamin being absorbed, 250 mg of ordinary water soluble thiamin gets you 2 to 4 mg absorbed. I’d advise you break your 250 mg tablets and take a piece every 4 hours or so to improve absorption a little. I’m pleased you found something that helps you.

By: Leon Chavarria

Leon Chavarria — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 00:27:06 +0000

I stopped taking my B complex when I discovered you don’t always get equal amounts (like 100 mg) of each vitamin. I’ve been taking medication for intractable (hard to control) epilepsy for 43 years…… so I started with 250 mg B1 (from Vitamin Shoppe) reading it increases bodily energy thinking it help’s a sluggish body – fatigue as well as ‘anti-stress’ and by the next morning the burning soles of my naked feet was gone, which has been bothering me for years, so now let’s see how it works on leaky gut and celiac (discovered in 2002) disease too! (note: I bought the B Complex at the grocery not from this site)

By: drob33

drob33 — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 06:01:15 +0000

There have been some breakthroughs with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Thiamine lately, namely the sources mentioned by ED C.

Metabolic profiling indicates impaired pyruvate dehydrogenase function in myalgic encephalopathy/CFS: [phoenixrising]

Furthermore:

the pyruvate dehydrogenase function is dependent upon thiamine (B1), a deficiency of which could be of serious concern in ME/CFS. It is needed in the forms mentioned above.

This is a big deal.

By: Nattha Wannissorn

Nattha Wannissorn — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 18:41:24 +0000

In reply to Ed C.. Thanks Ed. We are still working on this post.

By: Ed C.

Ed C. — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:31:36 +0000

This thiamin rec is way off the mark. Absorbtion of normal (water soluble) thiamin is limited by an active transport mechanism to a few milligrams a day. There are fat soluble forms (alliathiamin, benfotiamine, sulbutiamine) which solve this problem effectively: see Pubmed studies on congestive heart failure patients given 100mg water soluble thiamin (no effect) vs 100mg fat soluble thiamin (30% left ventricle ejection fraction increase) which is HUGE when you have congestive heart failure/thiamin deficiency caused by long term Lasix therapy making you pee out most of your thiamin.

Links on this site reference a couple studies where intramuscular thiamin solves a problem. Injection is another way to bypass the limited absorbtion of water sol. thiamin but most of us have to use oral supplements. The fat soluble thiamins aren’t terribly expensive and can quickly provide a MAJOR boost in body thiamin stores, water sol. thiamin just can’t do it.

Mostly enjoy the site.