Have You Heard About This Special Dementia-Fighting B Vitamin?

Since then, this new form of thiamine has proven to possess powerful benefits. Studies have shown that benfotiamine can help protect the body from damage caused by high blood sugar levels and may help the brain, heart, and other organs stay healthier.

Benfotiamine is special because it’s fat-soluble. That’s what enables this nutrient to enter the body’s cells at a higher rate than regular thiamine, which is water soluble.

Better Blood Sugar

Once there, according to lab tests at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, benfotiamine can block three of the physiological pathways in the body that, in folks with diabetes, can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, and damage to legs that can necessitate amputation.¹

According to Einstein researchers, benfotiamine produces these fantastic health benefits by activating an enzyme in the body called transketolase. Transketolase can prevent excessive blood glucose from converting into metabolites that wreak havoc on the body’s organs and structures.

Instead, the enzyme turns these toxins into harmless chemicals.

"By pure serendipity, it turned out that benfotiamine boosted the activity of the enzyme transketolase by 300 to 400 percent – something we never could have predicted based on benfotiamine's chemical structure," says researcher Michael Brownlee, MD.

A Sharper, Healthier Brain

In an exciting area of research, scientists are now investigating benfotiamine’s potential effects on the brain.

Some of these studies focus on what your brain needs to do when you learn a new skill or study a new subject, like an unfamiliar language. That requires the brain’s neurons to form new networks to incorporate your new memories and knowledge – an ability called neural plasticity. When your memory starts to slip and you suffer brain fog and cognitive decline, that plasticity is lost.

Lab tests in Europe and Asia show that benfotiamine can help the brain maintain its plasticity.²

According to this research and other studies, benfotiamine interacts with the actions of our genes to cause epigenetic effects that restrict the manufacture and activity of an enzyme called GSK3β. GSK3β can block neural plasticity, and benfotiamine reduces this adverse effect.³

Additionally, other research shows that benfotiamine can defend against the brain-damaging effects of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) which can form as the result of high blood sugar.⁴ AGEs form when accumulated sugar in the body interacts with fats. But benfotiamine has been shown to block AGE formation in the brain and spinal cord.

But it’s only the beginning…

The Future of Dementia Treatment?

Benfotiamine has shown promise in preclinical studies as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, but its effectiveness in human clinical trials is still under investigation. 

Laboratory and animal studies have indicated that benfotiamine can have neuroprotective effects, especially through its ability to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. In mice, benfotiamine improved cognitive function and reduced Alzheimer’s-related markers like beta-amyloid plaques.

In the U.S., benfotiamine was tested in a nationwide clinical trial to see if it is effective as a metabolic treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The research was a big deal and was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Aging, and the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at the University of California San Diego in collaboration with Burke Neurological Institute and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Although some participants showed improvements, further research, with larger and longer studies, is still needed to determine its therapeutic potential.

Better heart health

Along with helping brain health, studies have also found that benfotiamine may help the heart by lowering the risk of heart disease and helping the heart recover when a cardiac mishap injures heart cells.

Lab tests involving researchers in Germany and the Middle East show that benfotiamine can reduce the level of cardiac enzymes linked to heart damage while lowering oxidative stress, reducing inflammation, and staving off the death of heart cells.5

The researchers conclude that benfotiamine “could be considered a promising agent for therapeutic and prophylactic interventions in different cardiovascular disorders.”

Benfotiamine is approved as a drug in Germany that’s prescribed to treat diabetic neuropathy, sciatica, and other painful nerve conditions. 

How To Take Benfotiamine

Right now, you can buy benfotiamine as a dietary supplement. If you decide to take it, the recommended dosage is about 150 to 300mg twice daily.⁶ According to the experts, there are very few potential side effects though some people may get a stomachache or a temporary skin flush as is customary with some B vitamins.

Summary

Benfotiamine, a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1 (thiamine), offers numerous health benefits, particularly in protecting against diabetic complications, heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Its unique fat-soluble properties allow it to be absorbed more effectively than regular thiamine, enabling it to boost an enzyme that prevents harmful metabolic byproducts caused by high blood sugar. Studies suggest that benfotiamine enhances brain plasticity, protects against advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and may even hold promise as a treatment for Alzheimer's and other cognitive decline disorders.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is benfotiamine?