The information on this site is intended to supplement and enhance, not replace, the advice of a physician who is familiar with your medical history. Decisions about your health should always be made ONLY after detailed conversation with your doctor.
Generic drug name:
thiamine [vitamin b1]
(THYE a min)
Brand name(s):
GENERIC:
available
FAMILY:
Vitamins
Find the drug label by
searching at DailyMed.
Pregnancy and Breast-feeding Warnings [top]
Vitamins taken at the level that supplies normal body needs (not megadoses) do not pose a risk to the fetus or the nursing infant.
Facts About This Drug [top]
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| Meats (especially pork), organ meats and nuts (all of which are high in cholesterol and/or fat); dried beans; peas; whole-grain or enriched breads and cereals; enriched or brown rice; enriched pasta, noodles, and other flour products; potatoes. Cooking destroys some thiamine. | ||
| 1 loin chop | 1.18 milligrams thiamine | |
| 1 ounce wheat germ | 0.56 milligram thiamine | |
| 3½ ounces roast pork | ...||
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| Meats (especially pork), organ meats and nuts (all of which are high in cholesterol and/or fat); dried beans; peas; whole-grain or enriched breads and cereals; enriched or brown rice; enriched pasta, noodles, and other flour products; potatoes. Cooking destroys some thiamine. | ||
| 1 loin chop | 1.18 milligrams thiamine | |
| 1 ounce wheat germ | 0.56 milligram thiamine | |
| 3½ ounces roast pork | 0.39 milligram thiamine | |
Thiamine, or vitamin B1, helps the body use sugars and starches (carbohydrates) effectively. It is available in several kinds of foods (see box above), and a well-balanced diet with a variety of healthful foods should supply all the thiamine that your body needs. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of thiamine is 1.2 milligrams per day for men over the age of 50 and 1.1 milligrams per day for women over the age of 50.
The signs of thiamine deficiency include loss of feeling on areas of the hands and feet, decreased muscle strength, personality disturbances, depression, lack of initiative and poor memory. Thiamine deficiency is most commonly seen in alcoholics (the condition caused by a severe deficiency is called beri-beri). Alcoholics can become thiamine deficient because their diets often do not provide enough thiamine and because alcohol hinders the absorption of the thiamine they do consume. Chronic diarrhea also can lead to a need for more thiamine.
Thiamine is effective for treating conditions resulting from a thiamine deficiency, as in alcoholism. It has not been proven effective for treating skin problems, persistent diarrhea, fatigue, mental disorders, multiple sclerosis or ulcerative colitis, nor for use as an insect repellant or appetite stimulant.[1]
If you have to increase your intake of thiamine, eat more thiamine-rich foods rather than taking a vitamin supplement. You should take a supplement only when dietary changes are inadequate to treat a deficiency.
If you take thiamine supplements, do not take more than the recommended dietary allowance without a doctor’s supervision. Excess thiamine, beyond what is needed each day, simply passes through you and is eliminated in the urine without being used by your body.
In 2022, Complementary Therapies in Medicine published an article showing no benefit of using thiamine supplements in heart failure patients.[2]
Before You Use This Drug [top]
8Tell your doctor if you have or have had:
Tell your doctor about any other drugs you take, including aspirin, herbs, vitamins, and other nonprescription products.
How to Use This Drug [top]
Interactions with Other Drugs [top]
Evaluations of Drug Interactions 2003 lists no drugs, biologics (e.g., vaccines, therapeutic antibodies), or foods as causing “highly clinically significant” or “clinically significant” interactions when used together with the drugs in this section. We also found no interactions in the drugs’ FDA-approved professional package inserts. However, as the number of new drugs approved for marketing increases and as more experience is gained with these drugs over time, new interactions may be discovered.
Adverse Effects [top]
Call your doctor immediately if you experience:
last reviewed May 31, 2024
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