Vitamin B1- Thiamin(e)

Thiamin, also known as Thiamine and Vitamin B1, is a water-soluble vitamin. 

Supplements to increase thiamine:

Thiamine is a hydrophobic compound and is hard to transport into the blood, Benfotiamine is a synthetic compound that is hydrophilic and has a much higher bioavailability than thiamine. However, because the chemical structure of benfotiamine is thiamine with an extra segment added on, taking benfotiamine increases blood thiamine five times higher than just taking thiamine alone. However, because of the differences in individual genetics and the rare possibility of mutations in enzymes that cleave the extra segment from benfotiamine, I like to take a mix of benfotiamine and thiamine just to be sure. 

Products I Like:

Lake Avenue Nutrition Benfotiamine (250 mg) with Thiamine HCL (10 mg)

California Gold Nutrition Benfotiamine (300 mg)

Seeking Health B Complex (Thiamine HCL 25mg)

Foods that have significant thiamin include:

**When most organizations report daily values and % to daily values, its always reported as a % to the adult male daily value. Although I personally don't agree with this practice as it creates confusion, I will continue it and add future updates to include additional demographics to be inclusive and more representative of the population at large. For the meantime, take the mg listed and divide by your daily recommended value to get your personalized % of daily value.

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast contain 9.6 mg or 640% of the daily value

1 cup seaweed contains 2.66 mg or 216% of the daily value

100 g of all purpose, enriched flour contains 1.05 mg or 87% of the daily value 

** All flours contain a significant amount of thiamine. Check the US FDA website listed below for the exact amount.

100 g of raw pine nuts contains 0.625 or 52% of the daily value

1 cup of roasted sunflower seeds contains 0.601 g or 50% of the daily value

1 cup (cooked) of black beans contains 0.58 mg or 48% of the daily value

For a full list of thiamine content in food check out the "What's In Food"/ Food Data Central calculator by the US FDA. 

The link specifically for thiamine in foods can be found here. 

Thiamine deficiency can lead to subclinical symptoms and the development of conditions called Beriberi (which can be wet beriberi, dry beriberi, gastrointestinal beriberi, or infantile beriberi) and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

Subclinical symptoms include:

• loss of appetite
• fatigue
• irritability
• nerve damage
• tingling in arms and legs (pins and needles)
• blurry vision
• nausea
• vomiting
• delirium (in severe cases)

Subacute cardiac (wet) beriberi:

• swelling
• lung congestion
• enlarged heart
• shortness of breath

Acute cardiac (wet) beriberi:

• swelling
• lung congestion
• enlarged heart
• shortness of breath
• heart failure (in severe cases)
• low blood pressure
• enlarged liver

Neurological (dry) beriberi:

• tingling in hands and feet (pins and needles)
• muscle weakness
• muscle pain
• paralysis (in severe cases)
• coma (in severe cases)
• death (in severe cases)

Infantile beriberi:

*Typically found in infants with malnutrition, including those who are given water instead of breastmilk or formula and breast-fed babies of thiamin- deficient mothers

• shortness of breath
• blue face/ lips
• hoarse cry
• weight loss
• vomiting 
• diarrhea
• pale skin
• swelling

Wernicke's encephalopathy/ Wernicke- Korsakoff syndrome:

• severe mental confusion
• poor coordination
• paralysis or weakness in one or more eye muscles, which may appear as a lazy eye or one eye that does not move as fast as the other eye
• changes to the pupil dilation in one or more eyes
• hearing loss
• apathy (feeling a lack of care or motivation)
• drowsiness
• fatigue
• vision loss
• difficulty swallowing
• sleep apnea
• epilepsy
• lactic acidosis
• memory loss and impairment
• depression
• psychosis
• low body temperature
• excessive sweating

Lifestyle factors:

• Chronic alcohol intake and especially alcoholism
• Gluten free diet combined with a diet low in thiamine- containing foods 
• Tobacco product use
• Low dietary intake
• High intake of soft drinks
• High intake of citrus foods
• High intake of thiaminase rich foods such as raw freshwater fish, raw shellfish, and ferns
• High intake of foods that are high in anti-thiamin factors such as coffee and tea

Conditions that could increase risk of thiamin deficiency:

• Older adults
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity
• HIV/AIDs
• Liver cirrhosis
• Food malabsorption
• Kidney disease
• Bariatric surgery
• Heavy carbohydrate or sugar consumption
• High caffeine intake

Medications that may lower thiamin absorption or increase clearance:

• Birth control
• Antibiotics, especially fluoroquinolones
• Sulfa drugs
• Diuretics (water pills)
• Furosemide
• Famotidine
• Metformin
• Antacids

People that may need more thiamin:

• Pregnant women with frequent vomiting
• Those with restricted diets
• Those with ADHD/ depression
• Those that eat a lot of sprouted seeds

NOTE: Magnesium is needed for the conversion of thiamin to its active form. Therefore, having low magnesium levels can mimic a thiamin deficiency.

• Whole blood thiamin pyrophosphate (low in thiamin deficiency)
• Erythrocyte transketolase activity (low in thiamin deficiency)
• Alanine (possibly high in thiamin deficiency)
• Lactate (possibly high in thiamin deficiency)
• Pyruvate (possibly high in thiamin deficiency)
• Alpha-ketoglutarate (possibly high in thiamin deficiency)

Converting glucose into energy

Converting fat into energy

Converting protein into energy

Making NADPH

Making RNA and DNA

Making neurotransmitters

Nerve function

Heart function

Mucus membranes

Muscle function

Making red blood cells which transport oxygen to tissues

Birth to 6 months     0.2 mg

7 -12 months             0.3 mg

1-3 years                    0.5 mg

4 -8 years                   0.6 mg

9 -13 years                 0.9 mg

14 -18 years              1.2 mg (for males) and 1.0 mg (for females)

19 -50 years              1.2 mg (for males) and 1.1 mg (for females

51+ years                   1.2 mg (for males) and 1.1 mg (for females)

People who have cancer need to be careful taking higher doses of thiamin in supplement form as it may promote the progression of cancer. 

SLC19A3: thiamin transporter- moves thiamin from blood into cells

SLC25A19: thiamine transporter- moves thiamin from cytosol into mitochondria

SLC19A2: