Vitamin B1
Is Vitamin B1 Good for You?
The first in a long list of B vitamins, B1 has a special role to play in the body. Find out how this energy-boosting powerhouse can improve your health here!
How Vitamin B1 Helps Boost Energy
As a team, the B vitamins work to turn your food into energy. B1, also known as thiamine, turns nutrients into ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, which ensures all the mitochondria in your cells have sufficient energy. Finally, it turns carbohydrates into glucose, spreading it around your body to give you a little energy spike.
How Vitamin B1 Helps Keep Blood Sugar Levels Down
It has also shown promise as a treatment for some of the symptoms of diabetes (1), helping to keep the kidneys functioning for far longer and decreasing blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Despite creating glucose from carbohydrates, B1 also helps to regulate blood sugar, so that it stays in reasonable levels (2).
How Vitamin B1 Can Boost Morale
As if that wasn’t enough, there are some very promising results on using B1 to fight depression (3) and stress (4). So, if life is getting you down, upping your number one B vitamin could help you feel better. Some even call it the ‘morale’ vitamin.
Vitamin B1 Sources
With all that in mind, you probably want to know where you can find this miracle vitamin. Potatoes, nuts, bran, and whole grain cereals are great food sources, as are beef, pork, poultry, and rice. And, of course, supplementation can ensure you get how much you need, much quicker.