Vitamin B1 - Thiamin

Thiamin, also known as vitamin B1, is found in most types of food. Good sources include pork, vegetables, milk, cheese, peas, fresh and dried fruit, eggs, wholegrain breads and some fortified breakfast cereals.

How much do I need?

Thiamin is a water-soluble vitamin, which means you need it in your diet every day because it can't be stored in the body.

You should be able to get all the thiamin you need from your daily diet. This is:

  • 1 mg a day for men
  • 0.8 mg a day for women

What does it do?

Thiamin has a number of important functions. For example it:

  • works with other B-group vitamins to help break down and release energy from the food we eat
  • helps keep nerves and muscle tissue healthy

What happens if I take too much?

There isn't enough evidence to know what the effects might be of taking high doses of thiamin supplements each day.

What is our advice?

You should be able to get all the thiamin you need by eating a varied and balanced diet. But if you decide to take supplements it's a good idea not to take too much because this might be harmful.

Taking 100 mg or less of thiamin supplements a day is unlikely to cause any harm.