How Thiamine Can Help You Feel Better and Have More Energy

Feeling drained, foggy, or just a bit off? 

Speaking of Women's Health Podcast Host Dr. Holly Thacker breaks down how thiamine (also known as vitamin B1) works and how it helps convert the carbs you eat into steady energy for your brain, heart, and nerves.

Dr. Thacker walks through thiamine sources found in your pantry and fridge like fortified whole grains and cereals, black beans and lentils, salmon and mussels, lean pork, wheat germ, yogurt, and nuts and seeds like pistachios, macadamias, flax, hemp, and sunflower seeds. 

You’ll hear simple ideas for building B1 into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, so the routine does the work. We also dig into how much you need and why certain life situations change the equation.

By the end, you’ll know how to spot low B1, how to build a thiamine-smart grocery list, and how to talk with your healthcare team about the right dose if you need extra support.

Transcript

Welcome and Why B1 Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Holly Thacker, and I am back in the Sunflower House for another episode talking about a vitamin. This is going to be all about thiamine. Thiamine is B1. And whether you're tuning in during your morning walk or your commute or winding down for the day or at the gym, thanks for joining me. Today I'm going to dive into a topic that doesn't really get the spotlight it deserves, thiamine, known as B1. And I'll explore what thiamine is and why your body needs it, which foods are rich in it, and why you might need to consider supplementation. So let's get started. What is thiamine? Well, it is a vitamin, something our body cannot make. Thiamine's other designation is B1. We have B1, we have B2, B3, B6, B7, B9, B12. We have lots of Bs. And all the Bs are water soluble. And they're essential for your body's energy production and nervous system health. Because it's water soluble, your body can't store it. It's not fat soluble like vitamin A. So you'll need a regular intake through food and potentially supplement. You might want to think about thiamine as a spark plug for your body and metabolism because it helps convert food that you eat, particularly carbohydrates, into energy that your body can use. Without it, your cells don't function optimally. So here are just a few of the key roles that thiamine plays. In terms of energy production, and we all want good energy, it helps your cells turn the carbohydrates into actual usable energy, which is important for your brain and your central nervous system, as well as your peripheral nervous system. In terms of nerve function, thiamine supports healthy nerve signaling and helps maintain the integrity of your nervous system. Muscle function, it plays a role in muscle contraction and coordination. Heart health, thiamine is involved in maintaining proper heart functions. Luckily, thiamine is found in a wide variety of foods, and some excellent sources include whole grains, some fortified products like breads and cereals and pasta, rice and flour, legumes like black beans, which are good for the brain, and lentils. Seafood and meats. So many people don't get enough omega-3s. So salmon's a great source. Mussels, pork. Pork actually also has K2 or M7. Not a lot of foods have that. That helps get the calcium into your bones and not your heart arteries. Nuts and seeds, macadamia nuts. Oh, who doesn't love those macadamia nuts from Hawaii? Oh, they're so rich. All you need is just a couple. Sunflower seeds, flax, hemp seeds, flax and hemp are also rich in omega-3, as well as thiamine, and also pistachios. Pistachios really pack a punch as far as nuts go. Vegetables, acorn squash, and corn. And you're there's so many fun things to do with squash, and we have a lot of great recipes on our website. Um, that if you haven't checked out, go to speaking of women's health.com. Other sources, wheat germ, eggs, yogurt. Um, my son, who's sometimes a guest on this podcast, he still has memories of me ruining his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because I would sprinkle wheat germ on the peanut butter just for extra nutrition because he was growing so fast. He didn't really appreciate that. Um and yogurt, you know, is great for healthy lactobacillus. There's so many good things you can add to yogurt, like berries and flax, uh, walnuts, you know, things to really boost the nutritional content, including the omega-3s. So if you're eating a balanced diet with whole foods, you're likely getting enough thiamine. How much thiamine do you need? Well, for most adults, the recommended daily allowance for women is 1.1 milligrams. For men, it's 1.2 milligrams, and pregnant and breastfeeding women do need slightly more. And it's really best to get your nutrients from food, but supplements can help if your diet is lacking or you simply have increased needs. Signs of thiamine deficiency, since it's it's an actual vitamin, are pretty rare in developed countries, but it can occur. And in certain people with certain health conditions, symptoms of thiamine deficiency are fatigue and weakness, irritability or mood changes, memory problems, confusion, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, even blurry vision, or if it progresses, paresthesias or numbness or tingling in the arms and legs. One of the reasons why when I see people that have kind of nonspecific symptoms, a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of irritability, but nothing really out of the ordinary, I often wonder and advise a good quality B complex vitamin as well as improving the diet. So conditions that increase your risk include alcohol dependence. We did a podcast in season three all about alcohol. Thiamine is given many times when people are hospitalized for alcohol withdrawal, eating disorders, overactive hyperthyroidism, liver disease, chronic diarrhea can lower thiamine levels, and weight loss surgery and rapid weight loss with some of these potent weight loss medicines. And if it's untreated, thiamine deficiency can lead to really serious consequences like Wernicke's encephalopathy, or beri berry, which can affect the brain and heart. And that's why it's important to speak to your physician or your healthcare clinician if you suspect a deficiency. Now, most thiamine supplements do, most B complexes and multiple vitamins do include some thiamine. But there are some cases where your doctor may recommend additional thiamine. And the most common reason I recommend extra thiamine, even up to 100 milligrams, 100 times the RDA, is it does seem to help with menstrual cramps and also certain neurologic symptoms. But before starting any supplement, you should consult with your healthcare team to help determine the right dosage and check for interactions with anything else that you may be taking. So Thiamen B1, thanks for joining me and listening to this podcast. If you enjoyed it, please give us a five-star rating. You can share it. Be sure to subscribe if you don't already subscribe. And we're also on YouTube and Rumble when I have guests. If you want to see the guests that I'm interviewing, we're happy that you're with us and we hope this discussion helps shed some light on the importance of Fiamen and B1 and how you can help support your health through great nutrition and supplementation. So this podcast is free and it's a great way to stay informed and empowered. Until next time, we'll see you again in the Sunflower House. Remember, be strong, be healthy, and be in charge.