A common vitamin in everyday foods can control the speed of digestion, study says

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

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

The international team, led by Mauro D’Amato, professor of medical genetics at LUM University and 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 often they went to the bathroom, which the researchers used as a handy measure of gut motility.

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

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

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Many of the signals pointed to pathways already known to be important for digestion, such as bile acid metabolism and nerve signals, which control rhythmic contractions of intestinal muscles, according to the statement.

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

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

They found that people who consumed higher amounts of vitamin B1 tended to defecate more frequently.

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However, this relationship was not observed in all cases. 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 intestine, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Limitations of the study

The study, published in the scientific journal Gut, had some limitations.

Frequency is an indirect measure of intestinal 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 may 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 changes intestinal habits, nor do they establish the biological pathway through which thiamine could influence digestion.

People experiencing digestive problems should consult a doctor for guidance.