Q: As much as I love summer, I do not like mosquitoes, and I’m already dreading the bites. Is there anything natural I can do to make myself less desirable to them?
A: B1, also known as thiamine, can definitely help to reduce the amount of mosquito bites when taken in high doses.
Vitamin B1 helps to keep mosquitoes away because when it is excreted by the skin it helps to mask the natural human odors that are attractive to insects. I'd recommend taking 300mg a day beginning as soon as possible- you want some time for it to build up in your system before the mosquitoes get too prevalent. The amount of B1 in a regular multivitamin is usually not sufficient to repel mosquitoes.
B1 is water soluble, meaning that you can't have too much of it. Your body will take in what it needs and then excrete the rest (that is the action that helps to change how you smell to mosquitoes).
Even with taking B1, I'd still recommend a natural insect repellent if you're going to be going places this summer that are really infested with mosquitoes. Overall, I've found B1 to be quite effective in reducing the amount of mosquito bites I get in the summer, because no one puts insect repellent on every time they go outside during the summertime.
B1 is a tiny pill, and is only beneficial, so there is really no reason not to try it this summer!
Other benefits of B1 are its help for nerve health, blood pressure, circulation, blood formation, digestion, and brain function- it’s also a great antioxidant. We recommend the B1 by Nature’s Plus because it’s an extended release formula, which we really think does work the best.