Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Thiamin (vitamin B1)


Call it thiamin. Call it B1. Just don’t call it late for lunch (or any other meal). This sulfur (thia) and nitrogen (amin) compound, the first of the B vitamins to be isolated and identified, helps ensure a healthy appetite. It acts as a coenzyme (a substance that works along with other enzymes) essential to at least four different processes by which your body extracts energy from carbohydrates. And thiamin also is a mild diuretic (something that makes you urinate more).
Although thiamin is found in every body tissue, the highest concentrations are in your vital organs — heart, liver, and kidneys. The richest dietary sources of thiamin are unrefined cereals and grains, lean pork, beans, nuts, and seeds. In the United States, refined flours, stripped of their thiamin, are a nutritional reality, so most Americans get most of their thiamin from breads and cereals enriched with additional B1.

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