Food Sources Of Vitamin B1

The body requires vitamin B1, a water-soluble vitamin also known as thiamin, for producing adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, a substance that every cell of the body uses for energy. Vitamin B1 is also necessary for proper functioning of the nervous system, muscles and heart. Very little vitamin B1 is stored in the body, and depletion can occur in as little as two weeks, according to MayoClinic.com. The vitamin occurs naturally in many foods, however, and numerous foods also have thiamin added during processing.

Meat and Fish

The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that large amounts of vitamin B1 are found in pork and organ meats, such as liver and kidney. Cooked pork loin contains over 1,000 mg in each 3-oz. serving. Most animal products contain very little thiamin, although a few meats, such as beef, ham and salami, provide small amounts of the vitamin. Tuna and salmon are also good dietary sources of vitamin B1. Each 4-oz. serving of baked or broiled yellowfin tuna contains about 38 percent of the recommended daily value.

Nuts, Seeds and Legumes

Nuts, seeds, peas and beans are good sources of vitamin B1, according to the EBSCO Health Library, a leading health research database. Raw sunflower seeds provide more thiamin than other nuts and seeds, about 54 percent of the recommended daily value in each 1/4-cup serving. Other nuts, seeds and legumes that provide significant vitamin B1 include green peas, black beans, split peas, lentils, navy beans, lima beans, pinto beans, soybeans, kidney beans, chickpeas or garbanzo beans, pistachios, pecans and sesame seeds. Black beans provide more vitamin B1 than any other type of bean, about 28 percent of the recommended daily value in each 1-cup serving.

Whole Grains

Whole and enriched grains, such as long-grain rice and oats, are excellent sources of vitamin B1, explains Paul Insel in "Nutrition." Long-grain white rice contains about 1,066 mg of the vitamin in each 1-cup serving. Aside from enriched and whole wheat cereals, white rice provides more thiamin than any other food. White flour products and rice produced in industrialized countries is often enriched with thiamin. Common whole-grain and enriched foods that provide vitamin B1 in abundance include wheat bran cereal, plain bagels, egg noodles, spaghetti, oat bran, wheat germ and English muffins.

Other Food Sources

Brewer's yeast, nutritional yeast and blackstrap molasses contain large amounts of vitamin B1. Several fruits and vegetables are also considered good sources, although they typically provide less of the vitamin than other foods. The World's Healthiest Foods website suggests Romaine lettuce, asparagus, crimini mushrooms, boiled spinach, celery, tomato, eggplant, mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, bell peppers, watermelon, carrots, squash, turnip greens, broccoli, green beans, yellow corn, kale, pineapple, oranges, cauliflower, Swiss chard, collard greens, garlic and grapes as good sources of thiamin. Asparagus, for example, provides about 15 percent of the recommended daily value in each 1-cup serving.