Dietary thiamine intake and the risk of cognitive decline

[Ron Put]

J-shaped association between dietary thiamine intake and the risk of cognitive decline in cognitively healthy, older Chinese individuals

"Conclusions This study revealed a J-shaped association between dietary thiamine intake and cognitive decline in cognitively healthy, older Chinese individuals, with an inflection point at 0.68 mg/day and a minimal risk at 0.60–1.00 mg/day of dietary thiamine intake."

Weird study that is lighting up the news cycle. At first glance, I am inclined to take it with a large grain of salt.

Yes, there is increased cognitive decline in those consuming over 1g of dietary thiamine, but there is also greater cognitive decline in non-smokers compared to smokers, and in the non-boozers vs boozers.

Cronometer says I consume about 2.6g of thiamine per day, with the top three sources being wheat germ, flax, and nutritional yeast. Perhaps I am already too stupid to take this seriously.

Edited February 21 by Ron Put

[Alex K Chen]

Quote

 

However, beyond the inflection point of dietary thiamine intake, thiamine intake was significantly positively associated with cognitive decline. This finding is consistent with our recent studies, which found that long-term excessive intake of thiamine was associated with an increased risk of new-onset diabetes14 and new-onset hypertension27 in the general population. This series of studies consistently shows that excessive intake of thiamine may have adverse health effects on Chinese adults. Of note, both diabetes and hypertension are risk factors for cognitive decline or dementia.21 Moreover, thiamine can regulate acetylcholine levels by inhibiting the activity of cholinesterase.25 High levels of acetylcholine in the brain can adversely affect cognition.26 Therefore, we speculate that high levels of dietary thiamine intake may lead to cognitive decline by inducing elevated levels of acetylcholine in the brain. More research is needed to confirm our results and further explore the underlying mechanisms.

 

Acetylcholine accelerates cognitive decline? I have no credible source for this.

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But maybe the lesson is stay tf away from most B vitamin supplements, which tend to give massive overdoses of each B vitamin (i'm so glad I was too lazy to take my parents' B vitamin supplements back when they kept sending them to me). Chris Masterjohn's blog also advises caution against excess B vitamin use [and this is news to many of us]

https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/view/courses/masterclass-with-masterjohn-energy-metabolism/48437-14-thiamin-carbs-ketogenic-diets-and-microbes

Edited February 24 by InquilineKea