As if living with diarrhea, abdominal pain and the appetite problems that come with inflammatory bowel disease weren’t enough, many people with the condition also suffer from debilitating fatigue.

And while approximately 50 percent of people living with IBD can find relief from their chronic fatigue simply by taking vitamin B1 (thiamine), the other half are left to wonder why the treatment didn’t work for them.

But that’s all changed thanks to researchers at Aarhus University who discovered the gut secret that turns thiamine into an energy-generating machine for people with IBD.

Here’s what makes B1 work…

The single most important gut bacteria

“We know that about half of the fatigued patients benefit from treatment with vitamin B1, but we haven’t been able to find anything that distinguishes those who had an effect from those who did not,” said Professor Christian Lodberg Hvas, lead author of the study.

So his team of scientists set out to examine 40 patients with inflammatory bowel disease and chronic fatigue. Each patient received both vitamin B1 and a placebo in two periods of four weeks so that the researchers could determine if the vitamin treatment affected their exhaustion.

At the same time, the researchers analyzed every patient’s gut bacteria to see if a connection existed between specific gut bacteria and whether or not vitamin B1 worked to eliminate fatigue.

And sure enough, the team found exactly what they were looking for…

The scientists were able to determine that the only way a person with IBD could get relief from their fatigue by taking vitamin B1 was if their gut microbiome had enough of one single gut bacteria…

Known as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii or FP, “the bacterium is largely present in people with good health and only present in low numbers in people with chronic diseases. We don’t know if it’s just a marker for health or if it’s part of the reason why healthy people are indeed healthy,” explained Hvas.

“But the more studies that point to a beneficial effect of FP, the more it suggests that the bacterium is involved as a cause of health and not just as a bystander,” he added.

The path to a cure

Because of their results, the researchers recommend vitamin B1 treatment for anyone who’s living with IBD-caused fatigue.

However, as the study showed, only 50 percent of people (those who actually have the FP bacterium in the gut) will respond to the treatment.

Luckily, previous studies have shown that inulin-type fructans work to raise FP levels. Fructans are prebiotic fibers that work to nourish good gut bacteria.

You can get them from eating foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, including:

Additional research shows that another type of prebiotic called human milk oligosaccharides or HMOs – specifically, the HMO, 2’-Fucosyllactose — is capable of boosting the stool count of FP in adults. 2’-Fucosyllactose is also easy to find in supplement form online or at your local vitamin store.

So, by boosting FP and taking vitamin B1, people with IBD still looking for relief from fatigue may find it.

Finally, anyone who suffers from IBD should be aware that researchers recommend taking your diet plant-based with plenty of fiber. If you’re not a believer, be sure to read this man’s story, since by changing his diet, he was able to experience a complete and total absence of symptoms.

Sources:

Vitamin B is an effective cure for many intestinal patients with chronic fatigue — EurekAlert!

Dietary Factors and Modulation of Bacteria Strains of Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii: A Systematic Review — NIH

Oral supplementation of healthy adults with 2′-O-fucosyllactose and lacto-N-neotetraose is well tolerated and shifts the intestinal microbiota — NIH