🔋 Foods Highest in Thiamine (B1) — TOP 30(per 100g)
Converts carbohydrates into energy. Essential for nerve function and metabolism. FDA Daily Value: 1.2mg.
1–30 of 7,275 foods
What Thiamine (B1) Does
Thiamine (vitamin B1) converts carbohydrate into usable energy and is essential for nerve and heart function. Deficiency causes beriberi, historically widespread where polished white rice was the dietary staple.
The ranking is led by yeast extract spread at 23.4mg per 100g and active dry yeast at 11.0mg, then by fortified bars and cereals. Yeast is genuinely thiamine-rich; the rest is enrichment.
Naturally, thiamine concentrates in pork, whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts. US flour enrichment has added it back to refined grain products since the 1940s, which is why deficiency is now rare here.
Daily intake reference (FDA Daily Value)
FDA Daily Value: 1.2mg per day. Requirements rise with carbohydrate intake, since thiamine is consumed in the pathway that metabolizes it.
Getting Enough Thiamine (B1)
Pork is the standout meat
Among common animal foods, pork carries several times the thiamine of beef or chicken. A pork chop or tenderloin serving covers a large share of the Daily Value on its own.
Water-soluble means cook accordingly
Thiamine leaches into cooking water and degrades with prolonged heat. Cooking methods that keep the liquid — stews, soups, braises — retain considerably more than boiling and draining.
Alcohol interferes
Chronic alcohol intake impairs thiamine absorption and increases losses, which is why deficiency in developed countries appears most often in the context of alcohol use disorder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Which foods are naturally highest in thiamine?
A. Nutritional and baker's yeast, pork, sunflower seeds, whole grains, and legumes. Most other high figures in the ranking come from fortified cereals and formulated products rather than intrinsic content.
Q. Is thiamine deficiency still a concern?
A. Rare in countries that enrich flour, but it still occurs with chronic alcohol use, after bariatric surgery, and in people on very restricted diets. Symptoms include fatigue, nerve problems, and cardiac effects.
Q. Does refining remove thiamine?
A. Yes — milling strips the bran and germ where it sits. US enrichment standards add it back to white flour, bread, pasta, and rice, which is the main reason deficiency disappeared.
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Data source: USDA FoodData Central (Public Domain) — fdc.nal.usda.gov