The frequency of an individual’s bowel movements is surprisingly connected to a specific vitamin.
A comprehensive genetic inquiry into the speed at which ingested materials traverse the digestive canal, a process termed gut motility, has identified multiple genetic variations linked to the metabolic processing of vitamin B1, also known as thiamine.
These revelations illuminate a “hitherto unrecognized function” for this essential micronutrient, suggesting it may serve as a potential regulator of stool frequency.
If this hypothesis is substantiated, the administration of vitamin B1 supplements or the consumption of thiamine-rich foodstuffs could theoretically offer relief for gastrointestinal ailments such as constipation or diarrhea.
“Challenges with gut motility are central to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, and a range of other prevalent gastrointestinal motility disorders,” observes geneticist Mauro D’Amato from the Basque Research & Technology Alliance in Spain. He states.
“However, elucidating the underlying biological mechanisms proves exceedingly difficult. These genetic findings point towards specific biological pathways, particularly those involving vitamin B1, as promising avenues for future investigation, including laboratory experimentation and meticulously designed clinical trials.”
Vitamin B1, an indispensable nutrient found in foods such as whole grains, meats, fish, and legumes, performs a variety of crucial functions within the human organism that are still being actively researched. One of its key roles involves facilitating the conversion of consumed food into metabolic energy.
The vitamin’s part in digestive processes and its relationship with the gut microbiome are only now beginning to be understood.
Intriguingly, D’Amato and his associates did not initially set out to investigate thiamine. Their primary objective was to identify genes influencing gut motility, utilizing a substantial dataset comprising over 260,000 individuals from European and East Asian demographics.
Geneticist Cristian Diaz-Muñoz, also affiliated with the Basque Research & Technology Alliance, likens the genetic markers they identified to directional signals leading to unexpected scientific territories.
“We employed genetic analysis to construct a conceptual map of the biological pathways that dictate the pace of gastrointestinal function,” he elaborates. “The pronounced influence of vitamin B1 metabolism became strikingly evident, alongside well-established mechanisms involving bile acids and neural signaling.”
Specifically, the research consortium pinpointed two critical gene variants that exert an influence on gene expression related to thiamine’s biological activation and transport.
In a subsequent analytical phase involving 98,449 participants from the UK Biobank, the research cohort established a significant correlation between dietary vitamin B1 intake and the regularity of bowel movements.
However, individuals possessing both identified gene variants exhibited a notably modified response.
These findings indicate that the metabolic processing of vitamin B1 plays a role in regulating stool frequency and overall gut motility.
Complementary recent investigations have demonstrated that vitamin B1 supplementation can effectively address intestinal inflammation. Furthermore, a 2020 randomized clinical study reported that a 20-day regimen of high-dose vitamin B1 led to an improvement in chronic fatigue symptoms among individuals diagnosed with IBD.
“Future scientific endeavors may investigate whether precisely tailored nutritional interventions, such as thiamine supplementation, can ameliorate disordered gut motility and IBS symptoms in individuals exhibiting genetic predispositions,” is the suggestion from the authors of the recent publication. They posit, “thereby fostering a personalized methodology for disease management.”
This study has been disseminated in the journal Neurogastroenterology.
