Common vitamin in everyday foods may control speed of digestion, study says

A common vitamin found in everyday foods may play a role in how often people go to the bathroom, according to a large new study.

Researchers found evidence that vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, is linked to gut motility, which is the process that moves food through the digestive system.

The international team — led by Mauro D’Amato, a professor of medical genetics at LUM University and a research professor at CIC bioGUNE — analyzed genetic and health data from more than 268,000 people of European and East Asian ancestry, according to a press release.

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Participants reported how frequently they went to the bathroom, which researchers used as a practical measure of gut motility.

“We used genetics to build a roadmap of biological pathways that set the gut’s pace. What stood out was how strongly the data pointed to vitamin B1 metabolism, alongside established mechanisms,” first author Dr. Cristian Diaz-Muñoz, a postdoctoral researcher in the Gastrointestinal Genetics Lab at CIC bioGUNE, located in the Bizkaia Science and Technology Park in Spain, said in the release.

B1, also known as thiamine, is linked to gut motility, which is the process that moves food through the digestive system. By scanning millions of genetic markers, the team identified 21 genetic regions tied to how often people had bowel movements, including several that had not previously been connected to digestive function.

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Many of the signals pointed to pathways already known to be important for digestion, like bile acid metabolism and nerve signaling, which control the rhythmic contractions of intestinal muscles, the release stated.

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The most unexpected finding involved genes linked to thiamine metabolism. Two genes in particular, which help to transport and regulate vitamin B1 in the body, showed strong associations with stool frequency.

To explore whether this translated into everyday behavior, the researchers examined dietary data from nearly 100,000 participants in the UK Biobank.

They found that people who consumed higher amounts of vitamin B1 tended to have more frequent bowel movements.

However, this relationship wasn’t seen in every case. The effect changed depending on a person’s genetic makeup, suggesting that genes are involved in the body’s processing of the vitamin.

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Vitamin B1 plays a central role in energy metabolism and nerve function, including the nerves and muscles that coordinate movement in the gut, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Study limitations

The study, which was published in the scientific journal Gut, did have some limitations.

Frequency is an indirect measure of gut motility and does not capture stool consistency, discomfort or other symptoms relevant to digestive disorders, the researchers acknowledged.

The study also relied on self-reported dietary data, which can be imprecise.

Genetic associations do not prove cause and effect, the researchers noted. 

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The results do not conclusively show that taking vitamin B1 supplements will change bowel habits, nor do they establish the biological pathway through which thiamine might influence digestion.

People experiencing digestive issues should consult a doctor for guidance.