How Benfotiamine Protects Your Heart: The Science Behind Cardiovascular Benefits

We’ve talked about the potential benefits of Benfotiamine for Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. 

But there's another crucial conversation we haven't delved into: the benefits of this thiamine supplement for your heart.

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. In 2022, it was estimated that 702,880 people died from cardiovascular disease. 

This is one in every five deaths! 

Do you see now why it is important for you to take care of your heart health and have the right resources to support you? 

Now, let’s explore the science of Benfotiamine and how its potential cardiovascular benefits can protect you in the long run.

Understanding Thiamine’s Role in Heart Health

Your heart works nonstop to supply your body with the energy it needs for you to walk, jump, skip, and even breathe. 

But just like a high-performing engine, your cardiac muscle cells need a constant supply of fuel to keep pumping blood and energy throughout your body.

When it starts to run out, Thiamine steps in to act as an energy conductor. It starts becoming a coenzyme for several metabolic pathways.

You can think of the Thiamine coenzyme as a little assistant that helps the body’s catalysts(enzymes) perform their jobs better. 

Without enough thiamine, your body is unable to produce two essential enzymes: pyruvate dehydrogenase and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase.

These two enzymes play a key role in the citric acid cycle, which is where your cells produce energy.

When these two enzymes cannot be produced, your body is unable to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is the universal currency of your energy.

When your heart cells can't produce the right amount of ATP, it can lead to impaired cardiac muscle function, weakened pumping actions, and potentially more serious cardiovascular issues.

If you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes, you may naturally wonder what the next steps are to avoid these complications. Read this blog post here to learn what to do next.

Thiamine Deficiency and Its Cardiovascular Consequences

When thiamine is severely lacking in the body, it often leads to a condition called beriberi or wet beriberi. 

It’s a dramatic manifestation of severe thiamine deficiency that directly affects the cardiovascular system.

Wet beriberi symptoms are quite alarming; an individual will start experiencing edema or swelling in the legs and feet due to fluid retention.

They may also experience shortness of breath and rapid heart rate after only minimal exertion.

If left untreated, the condition can lead to heart failure due to the body being too stressed from trying to produce enough energy.

While thiamine deficiency is one critical piece of the puzzle, it’s not the only factor that puts immense stress on your heart.

There’s a powerful connection between stress, diabetes, and cardiovascular health. If you're not properly handling your stress as a diabetic, then you can unknowingly be leading your health toward severe complications.

To learn more about how unmanaged stress can affect your body—and get tips on how to manage your stress levels to prevent these consequences—dive into our related blog post.

How Benfotiamine Can Support Your Heart Health

Now that you see how a lack of thiamine affects your heart health, how can Benfotiamine reverse the damage?

Once your body’s thiamine levels are restored, Benfotiamine reactivates the metabolic pathways to generate the ATP that your cells desperately need.

However, not only does it help rebuild this pathway, Benfotiamine also provides these heart benefits:

1. Benfotiamine's Antioxidant Power

Damage to the cardiovascular system from diabetes often leads to increased oxidative stress and the formation of AGEs.

To combat this, Benfotiamine helps open up another pathway: the pentose phosphate pathway. 

This pathway's activation involves enzymes like transketolase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which play a crucial role in antioxidant defense.

The activation reduces oxidative stress and can decrease AGE formation, protecting the heart and blood vessels from damage.

2. Improving Heart Blood Flow and Vessel Formation

Benfotiamine has been shown to improve myocardial blood flow by enhancing the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis).

This improved blood supply helps ensure adequate oxygen and nutrient delivery to the heart muscle, especially in damaged or compromised areas. 

3. Strengthening Heart Function and Recovery

Some studies show that benfotiamine can improve how the heart pumps and relaxes. This is known as cardiac function. 

When these functions improve, it helps prevent issues like chamber dilation and increased pressure inside the heart—both of which are key markers of heart failure.

In cases of myocardial infarction (MI) or heart attack, benfotiamine has shown promise in improving survival and functional recovery. It helps reduce cell death and scarring, which are major contributors to heart damage.

4. Shielding Against Diabetes-Related Heart Damage

Diabetes can lead to a specific condition called diabetic cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle is damaged independently of coronary artery disease.

Research suggests that benfotiamine might protect against this type of damage by supporting a key cellular pathway that is crucial for the survival and function of your heart muscle cells.

5. Protecting Your Heart from Stress Hormones

After a heart attack or other cardiac event, the body's natural stress response can go into overdrive. 

This prolonged state of high alert puts an extra strain on the heart and can make a full recovery more difficult. 

Benfotiamine may help moderate this stress response, contributing to a more favorable recovery and reducing the risk of progressing to heart failure.

Take Control of Your Heart Health with Benfotiamine

Benfotiamine has the potential to improve and mitigate the effects of diabetes damage. By improving your thiamine levels, the supplement opens up pathways to allow your body to receive the energy and antioxidant protection your heart needs to stay healthy.

Making Benfotiamine a regular part of your routine is an important step, and we've made it simple and easy to help you stay on top of your health.

With our convenient auto-shipping service, you can save money on all of our products and schedule deliveries right to your doorstep.

Click here to get started with Benfotiamine and take the first step toward a healthier heart.