When you’re struggling yet again to poop, you might wonder if there’s a better way to stay regular. While you’ve probably heard of doing things like upping your fiber intake and drinking more water, new research suggests a slightly different approach—and it involves a vitamin.
A new study published in the journal Gut found a link between vitamin B1 and good gut motility, aka the movement of food through your GI tract. The findings suggest that making sure you’re on top of your B1 intake in the future could lower the odds you’ll be backed up going forward.
Before you toss vitamin B1 supplements in your cart, there are a few things to keep in mind. Here’s what gastroenterologists want you to know.
It took two analyses to find the link between B1 and pooping.
For the study, researchers analyzed genetic and questionnaire data from nearly 269,000 people to try to find genes linked to gut motility. The researchers found that the participants had a daily stool frequency (i.e. how many times they pooped a day) that ranged from 0.98 to 1.42 bowel movements.
When they crunched the data, the researchers were able to locate three genetic variants that influence gut motility: rs12407945 in European participants, and rs2581260 and rs12022782 in the multi-ancestry analysis. But they also found that two of the variants influence the activation of B1 and its transport around the body.
In a follow-up analysis of nearly 98,500 people who participated in the UK Biobank, the research team found a strong link between how much vitamin B1 people took in and how often they pooped, suggesting that vitamin B1 helped people go No.2.
The researchers wrote in the conclusion that this is a “previously unrecognized role for vitamin B1.”
There are a few theories on why B1 helps you poop.
Technically, the study just found a link between vitamin B1, aka thiamine, and pooping frequency—it didn’t explore the exact reason behind this. “We still do not know the exact mechanisms,” Mauro D’Amato, PhD, study co-author and professor of Medical Genetics at LUM University, tells SELF. But doctors say there may be something to this.
“Vitamin B1 may improve intestinal motility by supporting the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that stimulates contractions in the gastrointestinal system,” Marie Borum, MD, MPH, director of the Division of Gastroenterology at GW Medical Faculty Associates, tells SELF.
