MARMITE could save the lives of millions of people because a vitamin it contains protects against some potentially fatal heart conditions, scientists have claimed.
Tests show that vitamin B1, which occurs naturally in yeast-based foods, may prove a potential lifesaver for people with diabetes.
The discovery could offer fresh hope to the one in 20 Britons who have diabetes and face an increased risk of heart problems.
Of the three million sufferers of Type 1 and 2 diabetes, around half will die from such conditions.
Scientists from Bristol University have shown that a form of vitamin B1 protects heart cells from damage.
Although the tests have only been carried out in mice, they hope that further trials will show the compound, also known as benfotiamine, can also work in humans.
Professor Paolo Madeddu who led the study, said: “Supplementation with benfotiamine from early stages of diabetes improved the survival and healing of the hearts of diabetic mice that have had heart attacks, and helped prevent cardiovascular disease in mice with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Marmite
“We conclude that benfotiamine could be a novel treatment for people with diabetes, and the next step in this research will be testing whether similar effects are seen in humans.”
Diabetes is now one of the greatest health problems facing the UK. In recent years, rates of Type 2 diabetes have spiralled because of rising obesity levels.
Figures suggest that 2.8 million Britons are diagnosed with diabetes and a further 850,000 have the condition but do not know yet.
Only a small fraction have Type 1 diabetes, which is genetic. Most with Type 2 diabetes develop the condition often due to a poor lifestyle and unhealthy diet.
Although Type 2 diabetes can be managed with medicines, it often leads patients to have limbs amputated and also makes them vulnerable to other health problems, especially heart disease.
It is thought that high levels of glucose found in the blood of diabetics seeps into the delicate cells of the heart and makes them weak.
Over time, this can cause severe damage so the heart cannot pump blood around the body properly.
This is known as heart disease and it eventually leads to death.
The latest research, published in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, suggests that a synthetic version of vitamin B1 may stop this process from happening, probably by removing the toxins from glucose that damage heart cells.
However, the charity that funded the research last night warned diabetics not to rush out and buy vitamin B1 pills because it was still not clear if the benefits seen in mice could also help humans.
Dr Victoria King, head of research at Diabetes UK, said “We are pleased to have supported this research and encouraged by these promising results which now need to be tested and confirmed in human trials.
“We would like to note that it is still too early to draw any firm conclusions about the role of vitamin B1 in the prevention of complications and we would not advise that people look to vitamin supplements to reduce their risk of cardiovascular complications at this stage.
“Taking prescribed medication, eating a healthy balanced diet and regular physical activity are key to good diabetes management.”
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British savoury spread Marmite could be illegal in Denmark if it fails to meet safety requirements, officials say.
By law, the Danish authorities must give their approval for food fortified by vitamins or minerals before sale.
Products with such additives need to be assessed for any security concerns posed to the population, the Danish Food and Veterinary Administration say.
Denmark has previously banned several popular items, including the drink Ovaltine and some breakfast cereals.
Recently a shop in Copenhagen received a visit by local authorities seeking official paperwork for the sale of Marmite.
“We have no record of an application for the sale of the product, so we have neither forbidden or accepted it,” a spokesman for the Danish Food and Veterinary Administration said.
The procedural checks needed before a final decision is reached could take up to six months.
But he denied earlier reports – carried on the BBC news website and other media – that a ban had already been imposed.
Fans of the spread in Denmark are threatening a campaign of civil disobedience, the BBC’s Europe correspondent Chris Morris says.
Nutritionist Melanie Brown told the BBC she believed a ban on Marmite, which is rich in B-vitamins, as well riboflavin and niacin, would be counterproductive.
“Marmite plays such a useful part in many people’s diet, and in my practice it’s incredibly useful for older people…who are short in vitamin B-12.
“It’s full of folic acid, and there’s lots of evidence that many women, young women of child-bearing age are deficient in folic acid,” she said.
Whether you love it or hate it, a new study conducted by the University of Bristol claims Marmite could help save your life.
Experts suggest a key vitamin called benfotiamine, a derivative of vitamin B1 found in the spread, could aid a more speedy recovery from heart attacks by helping to heal the tissue damage and increasing the chance of survival.
Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, is found in most types of food including Marmite, pork, vegetables, milk, cheese, peas, fresh and dried fruit, eggs, wholegrain breads and some fortified breakfast cereals.
A Separate study by the University of Bristol also found that the vitamin could slow down the progression to heart failure in diabetics, which is a complication of the illness.
The researchers gave benfotiamine to mice, some of which had diabetes and some of which did not, to test the healing effects of the vitamin.
In the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, the researchers said that the treatment ‘markedly improved the survival of both non-diabetic and diabetic mice compared with those given no treatment’.
These recent findigs mean a supplement containing benfotiamine could become part of diabetes treatment.??
Experts have claimed that a vitamin found in Marmite has the potential to prevent heart diseases.
Scientists from Bristol University, who carried out the experiment in mice, also suggested that a derivative of vitamin B1, called benfotiamine, speeds up the healing of tissue following heart damage, reports the Daily Express.
The discovery could offer fresh hope to people who have diabetes and face an increased risk of heart problems.
“Supplementation with benfotiamine from early stages of diabetes improved the survival and healing of the hearts of diabetic mice that have had heart attacks, and helped prevent cardiovascular disease in mice with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes,” said Prof Paolo Madeddu, who led the study.
“We conclude that benfotiamine could be a novel treatment for people with diabetes, and the next step in this research will be testing whether similar effects are seen in humans,” he added.
The latest research suggested that a synthetic version of vitamin B1 may stop this process from happening, probably by removing the toxins from glucose that damage heart cells.
However, the charity that funded the research has warned diabetics not to rush out and buy vitamin B1 pills because it was still not clear if the benefits seen in mice could also help humans.
“We would like to note that it is still too early to draw any firm conclusions about the role of vitamin B1 in the prevention of complications and we would not advise that people look to vitamin supplements to reduce their risk of cardiovascular complications at this stage,” said Dr Victoria King, head of research at Diabetes UK.
“Taking prescribed medication, eating a healthy balanced diet and regular physical activity are key to good diabetes management,” she added.
The research is published in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology.