Vitamin B1 protects and improves kidney function in diabetics

Previous research has shown that Vitamin B1 levels are markedly lower in type I and type 2 diabetics averaging 75% lower than normal. One in three diabetics develops severe kidney damage caused by the disease. An imminent sign of kidney damage is an increase of albumin in the urine. Albumin is the most common protein in the blood and when the kidneys become damaged they cannot properly filter the blood; protein as albumin is not retained and leaks into the urine.

Researchers from the University of Warwick in London and the University of Punjab in Pakistan recruited 40 type 2 diabetic patients with elevated protein in their urine into their pilot study.  The patients were placed on either Vitamin B1 100mg capsules 3 times a day or inactive placebo for three months. By the end of the study the amount of albumin in the urine had decreased by 41%.  In fact 35% of the diabetics on Vitamin B1 saw their urine albumin levels go back to normal after supplementation. This human clinical trial shows that the B-Complex vitamin, Vitamin B1 protects against kidney damage in diabetics. The study is published online ahead of print in the journal Diabetologia.