Vitamin B1 and Heart Health: Why Higher Intake Reduces Cardiovascular Mortality

Thiamine deficiency, while uncommon in the United States, poses a hidden heart risk for certain individuals.

Those who struggle with alcoholism, specific chronic diseases, and diabetes often lack the ability to absorb the nutrients they need to function properly, especially Vitamin B1.

When you increase your thiamine intake, you reduce your chances of developing severe heart conditions. Below, we explore how this is possible in detail.

What is Vitamin B1?

Thiamine, or Vitamin B1, is a water-soluble vitamin that converts carbohydrates from the food you eat into energy for your body.

This is how you get the strength to get up to walk your dog every day, spend the day in the kitchen fixing a hot meal for the family, or even dial your best friend’s phone number for a quick chat.

The downside to this is that the vitamin dissolves in water, and your body doesn’t store a significant amount all at once. This means you need a regular supply of it from your diet to prevent thiamine deficiency.

However, as we mentioned earlier, individuals with certain conditions often struggle to obtain a consistent supply from their diet and must rely on alternative methods.

Four Ways Vitamin B1 Impacts Heart Health

There are four main ways in which thiamine affects the heart in a positive way. Below, we explore each of them in detail.

1. Fuels Cardiac Muscles

Your heart is always pumping blood throughout your body, and it gets its energy from adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This tiny molecule is the energy currency within the cells.  

For your heart to receive energy from the molecule, thiamine provides a metabolic pathway to produce ATP. 

But without a sufficient amount of vitamin B1, the heart is unable to receive energy from ATP. Thiamine deficiency leads to decreased ATP supply and impaired function of the heart.

2. Fights Oxidative Stress

Usually, electrons prefer to exist in pairs. But when there's an unpaired electron floating around in your body, it leads to the creation of free radicals.

These are unstable and highly reactive molecules that seek out and steal electrons from more stable molecules in the body.

This damages the healthy molecules and creates a chain reaction within the body. Once an electron is stolen from one molecule, it turns into a free radical and repeats the process, which brings imbalance.

When the production of free radicals is in full motion, the body is unable to counteract their harmful effects. This leads to oxidative stress and cardiovascular disease.

Vitamin B1 avoids this damage by protecting the heart and neutralizing free radicals. It reduces oxidative stress and safeguards the heart tissues.

3. Supports Vascular Health

Within your circulatory system, there’s a control center that supports and regulates blood flow and pressure. 

It is known as the endothelium, which is a thin, inner lining of your blood vessels from the major arteries to the tiny capillaries.

A healthy endothelium produces substances that can either relax and widen (vasodilation) or constrict and narrow (vasoconstriction) blood vessels.

This ensures the blood is delivered efficiently throughout the body. When an endothelium becomes dysfunctional, it can lead to a condition known as atherosclerosis or a buildup of plaque within the arteries.

Over time, the plaque hardens and narrows the blood vessels. This causes the blood flow to the heart to become restricted and increases the risk of heart attacks or strokes.

Thiamine ensures the proper blood flow from a healthy endothelium by supporting the production of its regulatory substances, keeping your blood pressure within a healthy range, and avoiding plaque buildup.

4. Combats Inflammation

Those who are 65 and over have a higher chance of suffering from a severe heart condition because of chronic inflammation. This is due to arterial plaque formation and damage to the blood vessels.

We already explained the plaque formation above, so we won’t go into detail here. However, it is known that thiamine has anti-inflammatory effects to help reduce the buildup and the body’s systemic inflammatory response.

Research Confirms the Link between Vitamin B1 and Heart Health

We wanted to provide some examples of studies that confirm the link between heart health and thiamine.

Here's a Korean cross-sectional study that analyzed the connection between Vitamin B1 and different health conditions.

Researchers found that participants who increased their daily thiamine intake had a lower risk of hypertension, myocardial infarction (MI) or angina, and type 2 diabetes.

The results suggest that increasing dietary thiamine intake could be a preventive strategy for these conditions.

It's also essential to provide data on the connection between thiamine levels and diabetes for heart health.

A study published in the Diabetologia journal measured thiamine levels in diabetics and those without the condition.

The Thornalley research team found that diabetic blood plasma thiamine levels were 75% lower than in healthy people.

They also discovered how thiamine deficiency plays a role in vascular complications and damage in diabetics.

Are You at Risk of Thiamine Deficiency?

As stated above, vitamin B1 deficiency is lower in developed countries. However, certain populations have a higher risk of experiencing thiamine deficiency due to their conditions.

This includes:

• Alcoholism: Alcohol interferes with the absorption and utilization of thiamine from the gastrointestinal tract and can also damage the liver, which plays a role in thiamine storage and activation.

• Diabetes: Higher blood sugar levels and frequent urination cause the kidneys to excrete thiamine from the body. As a result, diabetics often need a vitamin B1 supplement.

• Advanced Age: Due to a lifelong of poor eating habits, a reduced appetite, and decreased absorption in the gut, some older adults experience thiamine deficiency.

• Certain Medications: Some medications are known to deplete the body’s thiamine levels. This includes medications usually prescribed for high blood pressure and heart failure.

If you’re worried about your vitamin B1 levels, ask your doctor to run a test. They can tell you if you have a deficiency and discuss whether supplementation is necessary.

Increase Your Thiamine Intake with BenfoComplete

If your doctor determines you need to increase your thiamine intake for heart health, you might consider our Benfotiamine supplement.

To ensure you never run out and consistently support your heart, our auto-ship program provides a convenient and reliable solution.

By choosing this option, you'll also receive 15% off your order and free shipping, making it an easy way to prioritize both your health and your budget.