Before we talk about what Vitamin B1 is, you should understand what vitamins are in the first place. Vitamins are organic compounds that your body needs in miniscule amounts to sustain life.
There are two types of vitamins:
- 1 – Fat Soluble Vitamins – this type can be stored in the fat cells of your body. These types of vitamins are used when your body needs it. If it doesn’t need it, fat soluble vitamins remain stored in your body until the next time.
- 2 – Water Soluble Vitamins – on the other hand, cannot be stored and needs to be obtained from external sources such as food and vitamin supplements.
There are 13 varieties of vitamins that are known today. When it comes to B vitamins, the group is known as Vitamin B Complex, which consists of eight vitamins – Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12.
Other articles are written on this blog about the various types of Vitamin B your body needs for optimal health, but this article is about Vitamin B1. So…
What Is Vitamin B1?
The first to be discovered among the Vitamin B groups, Vitamin B1 is also known as Thiamine. This water soluble vitamin is also called ‘thiamine’ and is derived from the Greek language meaning ‘sulfur-containing vitamin‘.
Vitamin B complex is essential for the proper functioning of the human body and affects your:
- liver
- eyes
- skin
- hair
- and most importantly brain function
Vitamin B1 was initially known as ‘aneurin‘, named because its deficiency caused a damaging impact on the brain. This vitamin has also been nick-named the ‘anti-stress vitamin‘ because it counters the impact stress has on our bodies. It strengthens the immune system and, as noted above, brain function. This enables the body to withstand and counter stressful conditions.