Thiamine is the first vitamin to be identified. It is a B vitamin found in foods such as nuts, meats, whole grains, and beans.
Benfotiamine powder is a synthetic, or lab-derived, form of thiamine, also known as vitamin B1. Benfotiamine is a synthetic, or lab-derived, form of thiamine. Scientists are studying benfotiamine to determine if it helps conditions where symptoms are caused or exacerbated by vitamin B1 deficiency.
Thiamine is an essential micronutrient that helps the body produce protein and fat while also helping to metabolize carbohydrates. Vitamin B1 also helps the body convert energy from food into energy for the cardiovascular and nervous systems, thereby supporting the heart, brain, and nerves.
While low thiamine levels are uncommon in developed countries, thiamine deficiency may be associated with health conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and alcohol addiction. Because benfotiamine is a fat-soluble form of thiamine, it is more easily absorbed than the water-soluble natural form of vitamin B1. Benfotiamine's increased absorption could help repair conditions associated with thiamine deficiency, such as diabetes neuropathy.
Five Health Benefits of Benfotiamine
Because benfotiamine is more absorbable than natural thiamine, it has several health benefits.
1. Benfotiamine May Help Optimize Thiamine Deficiency
Due to its increased bioavailability, benfotiamine may help reduce symptoms associated with vitamin B1 deficiency.
As mentioned above, people with alcohol addiction, eating disorders, poor diet, limited intake of nutritious foods, kidney disease, or diarrhea are at increased risk for thiamine deficiency, although this is rare in industrialized countries. In addition, people who are underweight or have undergone gastric bypass surgery, are pregnant or breastfeeding, have hyperthyroidism or ADIS/ADIS, or are taking diuretics or prescriptions that promote fluid loss are also at risk for vitamin B1 deficiency. Frequent chewing of betel nuts and frequent consumption of raw fish or shellfish can also lead to thiamine deficiency.
Ataxia/lack of motor control; Confusion; Edema/swelling; Irritability; Mood swings; Nystagmus/uncontrolled eye movements; Epilepsy; Short-term memory loss; Tachycardia/fast heart rate.
If thiamine deficiency is not corrected or is severe, complications may occur including coma, heart failure, long-term neurological damage, or psychosis. Symptoms such as difficulty breathing, inability to speak, and paralysis are life-threatening and require emergency medical attention.
Two major health problems that may result from thiamine deficiency include Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and beriberi. Beriberi is caused by a buildup of pyruvate in the blood. Pyruvate is a byproduct of the body's inability to convert food into energy due to a lack of vitamin B1. Symptoms of beriberi include difficulty breathing, irregular eye movements and heart function, pain, vomiting, loss of consciousness or sensation, and decreased alertness.
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome includes two different diseases. If not repaired in time, Wernicke's disease may develop into Korsakoff syndrome. Wernicke's disease manifests as muscle weakness, visual impairment, and intellectual deterioration due to its effects on the nervous system. Korsakoff syndrome manifests as irreversible memory impairment and difficulty learning new information.
2. Benfotiamine may help reduce the risk of chronic eye disease
There is evidence that a combination of thiamine and other nutrients may help reduce the risk of cataracts.
Optic neuropathy is associated with thiamine deficiency. Symptoms include loss of light perception and severe vision loss. Benfotiamine supplementation is more effective in optimizing the symptoms of optic neuropathy than thiamine supplementation because benfotiamine is more absorbed.
Uveitis is an inflammatory reaction of tissues below the outer surface of the eyeball and is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch published research results showing significant results using benfotiamine in the repair of uveitis. The researchers found that after the laboratory mice were injected with bacterial toxins that usually produce uveitis-like reactions, they did not develop any uveitis-like reactions after being fed benfotiamine.
"Benfotiamine strongly controlled this eye-damaging condition and the biochemical markers associated with it," said Kota Ramana, senior author of the study and associate professor at the Medical University of Utah. "We are optimistic that this simple vitamin B1 supplement has great potential as a new treatment for this widespread eye disease."
3. Benfotiamine will help improve symptoms of diabetes
Many people with diabetes are deficient in thiamine, an important cofactor in carbohydrate metabolism.
Thiamine deficiency can lead to oxidative stress, inflammation, and dysfunction of the endothelium, or lining of blood vessels, which can cause blood vessels to constrict or narrow. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals that cause tissue damage and antioxidants that protect against or repair free radical damage.
Supplementing with benfotiamine helps prevent harmful byproducts of glucose metabolism. Supplementing with this fat-soluble B vitamin can also reduce oxidative stress and optimize endothelial function.
In the absence of thiamine, glucose is metabolized differently. This alternative pathway of carbohydrate metabolism can lead to vascular damage. Benfotiamine supplementation helps reduce or prevent the need for this alternative metabolic process, thereby reducing the risk of vascular damage in patients with glucose metabolism.
4. Benfotiamine may help alleviate Alzheimer's disease
Thiamin levels and activity associated with thiamin-dependent enzymes are reduced in tissues and brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Medical trials have shown that oral thiamin can optimize cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Since thiamin is poorly absorbed by the elderly, supplementation with benfotiamine would be a good alternative, especially considering that it is more easily absorbed than its water-soluble counterpart.
Although the human brain accounts for only 2% of body weight, it consumes about 20% of the body's total glucose. Thiamine plays an important role in glucose metabolism. Evidence suggests that patients with Alzheimer's disease may have reduced glucose utilization 30 years before dementia symptoms begin.
A small medical trial conducted by the Burke Neurological institute showed that benfotiamine is safe and may be effective in optimizing cognitive outcomes in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. Benfotiamine increases vitamin B1 levels, which improves the brain's use of glucose.
By increasing benfotiamine's use of glucose, we may be able to slow or eliminate memory loss or dementia in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
5. Benfotiamine may help repair kidney disease
In a study of patients with diabetes with renal dysfunction, urinary albumin excretion (UAE) was used as a marker of kidney function. The study found that patients who received thiamine repair had a decrease in urinary albumin excretion, while patients who received a placebo had no significant decrease.
Another study considered how glucose and its metabolites damage the peritoneum and slow the deterioration of the residual kidney and looked at the effects of supplementing with benfotiamine in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. The study found that benfotiamine reduced glucose-induced tissue damage. This study used rats for peritoneal dialysis. Other findings included reduced peritoneal fibrosis, reduced inflammatory markers, and neovascularization, or the formation of new blood vessels. Together, these led to the optimization of peritoneal transport function.
In addition, benfotiamine-treated rats showed lower levels of harmful byproducts of glucose metabolism, reduced glomerular damage, and decreased proteinuria. These findings are positive indicators of improved kidney function and suggest that benfotiamine protects the peritoneum and remnant kidney in the peritoneal dialysis rat model.
Studies on adults are relatively mature, but caution should be used regarding
Benfotiamine for kids.
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