Careblazer, what if I told you there’s a vitamin that could slow down Alzheimer’s disease?
Here’s the thing. Most people with Alzheimer’s already have enough of this vitamin. Their brains just can’t absorb it. And there’s a supplement that helps the brain absorb it.
I’m going to give you all the details, including the study I’m referencing. But first, as always: before you take anything new, please contact your healthcare provider. I am not your healthcare provider. I’m not a prescriber. This is educational information.
I do think this is pretty exciting, though. I happen to know several healthcare professionals and neurologists who are taking this supplement. I don’t want to keep it from you. I just want to make sure we do this in a very safe, healthy way.
Why Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Matters for the Brain
We already know that thiamine, vitamin B1, is super important for the brain to function properly.
You can think about it like gas in a car. If there’s no gas in the car, it’s not going to go. It’s not going to do what it could do.
Vitamin B1 in the brain is the same. Without good levels, your brain stutters, struggles and slows down.
What Is Benfotiamine?
There’s a supplement called benfotiamine. It’s a supercharged, synthetic type of vitamin B1.
And here’s the part that surprised me. The majority of people with Alzheimer’s disease have an adequate amount of vitamin B1, but their brains can’t absorb it.
Benfotiamine helps the brain absorb B1. It helps it get into the brain more easily. It also helps keep nerve cells healthy.
As I was doing my research, I learned this supplement is better known for helping with diabetes. But exciting new research from 2020 and 2021 shows it could be really helpful for people with dementia as well.
What the Benfotiamine Alzheimer’s Study Found
Here’s one study I’ll share with you. Scientists looked at 70 people with early or mild Alzheimer’s disease.
Half of the group took benfotiamine every single day. The other half took a placebo, which is a sugar pill that isn’t supposed to do anything. Nobody knew whether they were getting the actual supplement or the sugar pill. They were just told to take it every day.
One year later, the researchers looked at these people again.
The benfotiamine group didn’t get better. Both groups still declined over the year, the way Alzheimer’s does. But the group that took benfotiamine had 43% less cognitive decline than the group that took the placebo. On the study’s main memory and thinking test, that difference fell just short of being statistically significant. On a second measure, a rating of overall dementia severity, their decline was 77% smaller, and that difference was significant.
So the people who took the supplement were able to hang on to their thinking skills longer. It’s not curing the disease. We do not have anything like that. But this suggests it could slow the disease down.
Before We Get Too Excited: It Was a Small Study
This was a study of 70 people. Yes, it was a randomized, placebo-controlled study, which is great. But it’s a small study. We need to do this with more participants.
And there’s one happening right now with over 400 people, so I’m excited to see those results. There’s also another study happening looking at how the supplement might work in minority groups, to make sure it’s working the same for everybody.
Should You Take Benfotiamine or Give It to Your Loved One?
So you might be thinking, should I start giving benfotiamine to my loved one? Should I start taking benfotiamine myself?
Those are pretty good questions. I’d be asking myself the same ones. And that’s a great conversation to have with your healthcare provider.
Talk to your doctor before taking any new vitamins/medications. Here’s the link to the vitamin so you can learn more. This is an affiliate link, so Careblazers may earn a small commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you.
Why I’m Hopeful About This Research
Here’s what I will say. I’m very hopeful about this early research study, and I’m hopeful about the ones that are ongoing.
This might actually be something that can slow down the disease. Maybe pathologically, meaning researchers see benefits in the brain itself. Who knows? But most importantly, it might slow it down clinically, meaning their thinking decline actually slows down.
That’s amazing.
I’ve also looked at another early finding, whether lithium could help prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease. And for the bigger picture, I talk about whether we’re actually making progress in dementia research.
Keeping up with new research while you’re caring for someone every day is a lot. Inside the Care Collective, you can bring questions like these to our weekly support rooms and expert Q&As, and get help with how to respond in real life and how to take care of yourself while you do it. You can learn more here.
Sources & References
Gibson GE et al. Benfotiamine and Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s Disease: Results of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Phase IIa Clinical Trial. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2020: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7880246/
A Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Benfotiamine in Patients With Early Alzheimer’s Disease (BenfoTeam), ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06223360: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06223360
