What is vitamin B1 (thiamine) good for?

Ingredient spotlight · Vitamin B1, thiamine in Health Royals’ Peak Performance, multivitamin for women with omega 3 · 5 min read

Vitamin B1, thiamine, is one of the first vitamins the body needs to turn carbohydrates into usable energy. Thiamine contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism, to the normal functioning of the nervous system, to normal psychological function and to the normal function of the heart. The body stores little of it, so it is needed every day. Peak Performance Formula provides 1.1 mg, 100% of the EU reference intake, as thiamine mononitrate from Quali®-B by dsm-firmenich.

Energy is usually described as a feeling: awake or tired, focused or slow. Biologically, it begins long before we notice it, in the reactions that turn food into something cells can actually use.

Vitamin B1 works near the beginning of that chain. It does not stimulate the body or create a sudden burst of energy. It is part of the equipment that lets the energy in food be released at all.

Here we go through what vitamin B1 does, where it comes from, when intake can fall short, and why we chose thiamine mononitrate at 1.1 mg for Peak Performance, our daily multivitamin for women with omega 3 from algae. As with every nutrient we include, the questions were the same: which form, from which manufacturer, and at what dose.

Vitamin B1 at Health Royals

Peak Performance provides 1.1 mg of vitamin B1 per daily dose as thiamine mononitrate from Quali®-B by dsm-firmenich, 100 per cent of the nutrient reference value, together with niacin, folate and vitamin B12. Thiamine contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the normal functioning of the nervous system. The amount is a complete daily nutritional contribution, chosen to be taken every day.

See Peak Performance, multivitamin for women with omega 3

What is vitamin B1?

Vitamin B1 is the common name for thiamine, a water-soluble B vitamin found in wholegrains, pulses, pork, fish, seeds and nuts. The body stores only limited amounts, so a regular intake matters more than an occasional large one.

After absorption, thiamine is converted into an active coenzyme called thiamine pyrophosphate, or TPP. A coenzyme is a helper molecule: it lets specific enzymes carry out reactions they could not complete on their own. In thiamine's case, those reactions sit in carbohydrate and energy metabolism, and in the handling of certain amino acids.

How does vitamin B1 turn food into energy?

By helping glucose cross from its first breakdown steps into the mitochondria, where most of a cell's usable energy is produced.

Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, but glucose is not the form of energy cells use directly. It must pass through several metabolic stages before its energy can be captured and transferred. Thiamine dependent enzymes connect the early breakdown of glucose with the pathways inside the mitochondria, often described as the cell's power stations. It is a simplification, but it captures where much of the work happens.

That is why thiamine matters throughout the body. The brain needs energy for signalling, muscles need it for movement, and the heart needs it to keep working without a pause. Thiamine contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism because it sits at a junction all of them depend on.

Why does vitamin B1 matter for the nervous system and the mind?

Because nerve cells run on a continuous supply of energy, and thiamine takes part in the processes that provide it.

Nerve cells depend on normal glucose metabolism to send signals, communicate and maintain everyday function. Thiamine contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system. The link is partly the energy demand of nervous tissue, and partly other biochemical processes thiamine takes part in within nerve cells.

Thiamine also contributes to normal psychological function, a broad term covering everyday mental processes such as thinking, emotional function and mental performance. Sleep, stress, physical health, recovery and circumstances all shape how focused or resilient someone feels. What we do know is that the brain is a highly metabolically active organ, and it relies on a steady supply of energy and nutrients, of which thiamine is one.

Why is the heart part of the story?

Because the heart never stops, and every beat costs energy.

Heart muscle depends on continuous, well regulated cellular metabolism to keep contracting normally. Thiamine contributes to the normal function of the heart, which reflects its established nutritional role in a tissue with high and constant energy needs.

The connection between energy metabolism, the nervous system and the heart is therefore not a coincidence. All three depend on cells converting and using energy normally, and thiamine is part of that foundation.

When can vitamin B1 intake fall short?

Since the body stores little thiamine, intake has to be regular. It can fall short with a very one-sided diet, a long period of low energy intake, a long-term high alcohol intake, or conditions that affect absorption. Marked deficiency is a matter for healthcare to assess, and tiredness on its own has many possible causes.

What we do know is simple: thiamine is used every day, so a steady daily intake is what matters.

Does more vitamin B1 give you more energy?

Not necessarily. Vitamin B1 does not work like caffeine, and once the need is covered, a much higher dose does not automatically add energy, focus or performance.

For us, the dose is as important as the raw material. A higher number on a label is not automatically a better dose. What matters is that the amount has a clear purpose and fits the rest of what you take each day. That is why Peak Performance provides 1.1 mg, 100% of the EU nutrient reference value: a complete daily contribution, not a high dose application.

Why did we choose thiamine mononitrate from Quali®-B?

Peak Performance provides vitamin B1 as thiamine mononitrate from the Quali®-B portfolio by dsm-firmenich, an established global manufacturer of vitamins.

Thiamine mononitrate is a defined and widely used form of vitamin B1. It does not work differently in the body from other correctly made thiamine. Its value lies in a specified raw material with known identity, documented quality control and consistency, so that 1.1 mg on the label is 1.1 mg in every daily dose. Health Royals works with specialist manufacturers, researchers and supplier networks when raw materials are chosen, which we explain in branded and non-branded ingredients.

Why choose vitamin B1 in Peak Performance rather than a separate B1 supplement?

Thiamine can be bought on its own. Our question was a different one: which nutrients belong together in one daily dose for a woman in Sweden? The starting point was intake data. In Riksmaten, Livsmedelsverket's national dietary survey, the nutrients where intake often falls below the recommendation are vitamin D, folate and iron, with selenium as a fourth, as we set out in what Riksmaten shows. Omega 3 is the other gap, because ordinary multivitamins leave it out.

Vitamin B1 belongs with the B vitamins that work alongside it in energy metabolism. So in Peak Performance it sits together with:

• Niacin, 16 mg, covered in our article on vitamin B3.
• Folate, 200 µg, as Quatrefolic® 5-MTHF, and vitamin B12, 10 µg, as MecobalActive® methylcobalamin, explained in folate and vitamin B12.
• Vitamin D3, 25 µg, as Quali-D®, and vitamin K2, 90 µg, as MenaQ7®.
• OMEGATEX® algal oil, 500 mg, providing 375 mg of omega 3, of which 300 mg DHA and 50 mg EPA.
• Selenium, 27.5 µg, zinc 5 mg as L-OptiZinc® and chromium 20 µg, with Hytolive® olive fruit extract, 150 mg, and Extramel® melon extract, 10 mg.

It does not contain calcium, magnesium or iron. That is what we mean by fewer jars, more thought: one jar instead of several, each ingredient there for a reason, the doses published. The jar is amber glass with a scented core, made to stay out on the shelf so that a daily vitamin actually becomes daily.

We have done the selection so that you do not have to. Peak Performance gives you 1.1 mg of thiamine every day, alongside niacin, active folate and methylcobalamin B12, at doses we can explain. You can stop looking.

See Peak Performance, multivitamin for women with omega 3

Go deeper

• Guide: wellbeing from within
• Vitamin B3 and the chemistry of everyday energy
• Vitamin B12 and its active form, methylcobalamin
• Folate or folic acid, and what active folate is
• Vitamin B2 for skin and cellular energy
• Nutrient deficiency in Sweden: what Riksmaten shows
• Stress, sleep and recovery

Frequently asked questions

What does vitamin B1 do in the body?
Thiamine contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism. After absorption it becomes the coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate, TPP, which helps enzymes move the products of glucose breakdown into the mitochondria. Thiamine also contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system, to normal psychological function and to the normal function of the heart.

Is thiamine the same thing as vitamin B1?
Yes. Thiamine is the scientific name and vitamin B1 the everyday one. In Peak Performance it is included as thiamine mononitrate from the Quali®-B portfolio by dsm-firmenich.

Which foods contain vitamin B1?
Wholegrains, pulses, pork, fish, seeds and nuts. The body stores only limited amounts, so a regular intake matters.

Does more vitamin B1 give you more energy?
Not necessarily. Once the need is covered, a higher dose does not automatically add energy or performance. Thiamine helps the normal energy pathway work rather than speeding it up.

How much vitamin B1 is in Peak Performance?
1.1 mg per daily dose as Quali®-B thiamine mononitrate, 100% of the EU nutrient reference value, a complete nutritional amount chosen for every day.

References

European Commission. EU Register of nutrition and health claims made on foods: authorised health claims for thiamine.

European Food Safety Authority. Dietary reference values for thiamin. EFSA Journal. 2016;14(12):4653.

dsm-firmenich. Quali®-B vitamin B1 and thiamine mononitrate ingredient information.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. It summarises nutrient functions, published scientific information and manufacturer-provided ingredient information. Individual needs and experiences may vary. Consult a qualified healthcare professional with questions about supplementation, medication or personal health.