Feed the brain with Thiamine
Chocolate is good for the brain – and this has never been truer than today, when many of us need a respite from the stress, fatigue, and emotional strain that affect our mental health.
Chocolates are rich in B vitamins, along with other nutrients such as magnesium, iron, and antioxidants that support brain function, mood regulation, and overall well-being.
But more than chocolates, B vitamins, specifically B1 or Thiamine (or Thiamin) is also present in foods [1] including meats such as pork, fish, whole grains beans, lentils, green peas, sunflower seeds and yoghurt. It is also added to breads, cereals, and baby formulas.
Cooking and processing reduce thiamine levels. Bread retains 70–80% of its original vitamin content, pasteurization cuts milk’s thiamine by up to 20%, and unenriched white rice has only a tenth of that in brown rice. Alcohol and folate deficiency further hinder absorption.
Thiamine and the brain
The brain’s high dependence on mitochondrial ATP production makes it especially vulnerable to thiamine deficiency. This risk is heightened during periods of rapid growth such as infancy and childhood, when inadequate intake or genetic defects can lead to deficiency.
Thiamine deficiency has been linked to a wide spectrum of symptoms ranging from confusion, memory loss, and sleep disturbances to severe neurological and cardiac conditions including encephalopathy, ataxia, heart failure, and muscle wasting, according to authors of the study, “Neurological, Psychiatric, and Biochemical Aspects of Thiamine Deficiency in Children and Adults (Frontiers in Psychiatry)”. [2]
How the body absorbs and uses Thiamine
Thiamine is absorbed in the small intestine through active transport at normal dietary levels and by passive diffusion when consumed in higher doses. Most of the thiamine found in food occurs in phosphorylated forms that are converted into free thiamine by intestinal enzymes before absorption.
The vitamin is stored mainly in the liver, skeletal muscles, heart, brain, and kidneys, with total body reserves estimated at 25 to 50 mg. About 80% of this stored thiamine exists as thiamine diphosphate (TDP), its active form, which acts as a cofactor for enzymes that support glucose, amino acid, and lipid metabolism.
How much should we take?
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for men ages 19 and older is 1.2 mg daily, and for women in the same age range 1.1 mg daily. For pregnancy and lactation, the amount increases to 1.4 mg daily. Meanwhile, a tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the maximum daily dose unlikely to cause adverse side effects in the general population. There is no UL for thiamin due to a lack of reports showing negative effects from high thiamin intakes. [3]
Vitamin B1 in cognitive health and Alzheimer’s
A small clinical trial led by Dr. Gary E. Gibson’s team at the Burke Neurological Institute, in collaboration with physicians at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, found that benfotiamine—a compound that raises vitamin B1 levels—appears safe and may help improve cognitive function in people with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease.
The yearlong study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease [4], examined benfotiamine’s ability to increase blood thiamine concentrations. Higher vitamin B1 levels are thought to enhance the brain’s use of glucose, a key factor in maintaining cognitive performance.
Alzheimer’s affects one person in the United States every 65 seconds, with cases projected to grow from over five million to 14 million by 2050. Prior research indicates that reduced brain glucose metabolism may occur decades before memory loss begins.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, the study provides early evidence supporting further research on benfotiamine as a potential treatment to slow or prevent cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease.
In the same vein, a national clinical study [5] evaluating benfotiamine, a synthetic form of thiamine (vitamin B1), as a potential treatment for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer’s disease (AD), has been conducted, with the University of Iowa taking part. The Phase 2 trial, known as BenfoTeam, will assess whether benfotiamine can help preserve or improve memory, thinking, and daily functioning. Nearly 50 sites across US had participated, with funding from the National Institute on Aging under the National Institutes of Health.
Professor Delwyn Miller of the UI Carver College of Medicine said Alzheimer’s affects nearly seven million Americans and remains the fifth leading cause of death among people over 65. He noted that existing treatments provide limited benefits and can be difficult to access. Miller said benfotiamine presents a credible, affordable, and safe approach worth testing in this larger study.
The BenfoTeam study has evaluated whether increasing blood thiamine levels can delay cognitive decline in people aged 50 to 89 with mild memory issues or dementia due to AD. Recruitment efforts focus on underrepresented groups, including Hispanic and Black communities, which face higher rates of the disease.
Previous pilot studies found benfotiamine to be safe and well tolerated, with slower cognitive decline than placebo. Those findings supported the launch of this larger, 18-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 406 participants across 50 US sites.
Sources
1.https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/vitamin-b1/
2.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6459027/
3.https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/vitamin-b1/
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