Recommendations for Daily Intake of Thiamine

Thiamine, as we know it, is an essential vitamin that our body needs to keep our brain and other organs healthy. It is used by each and every single one of all the cells in our body to make ATP (energy carrying molecule).

We can consume a healthy diet, including thiamine rich foods, to prevent unwanted disorders which result due to thiamine deficiency. In this article, I'm going to share with you the recommended amounts of vitamin B1 (thiamine) which communities in United States and Canada should aim for.

Although these values don't change very often, you are still advised to check for updates with the health ministry of your country. People of different age need different amounts of thiamine because of the energy requirements.

Infants

• 0-6 months: 0.2 mg
• 7-12 months: 0.3 mg

Children

• 1-3 years: 0.5 mg
• 4-8 years: 0.6 mg
• 9-13 years: 0.9 mg

Males

• 14 years old and above: 1.2 mg

Females

• 14-18 years: 1.0 mg
• 19 years old and above: 1.1 mg

Pregnant or Nursing Women

Pregnant or nursing women require slightly more thiamine than everyone else because of the dependency of infant. Infants depend on their mother to obtain all the thiamine they need.

• Recommended dose: 1.4 mg  

These values listed above are recommended doses for healthy individuals. As long as you are consuming a healthy diet, you should be getting enough thiamine from your food. Once again, these values are recommended for healthy individuals, people who are already deficient may require much larger doses under the supervision of doctors. Typical dose used for therapeutic purposes is 200 mg per day or more depending on the severity of deficiency.


Sources:
http://psych.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=21868

Beriberi Results Due to Thiamine Deficiency

Vitamin B1, which is also known as thiamine, is an important vitamin for our body. Specifically, this vitamin is required to maintain a healthy brain. In this other article, we listed some of the disorders that are caused by the deficiency of this vitamin. Beriberi is one of the disorder that results due to vitamin B1 deficiency. In this article, we are going to look at beriberi in a little more detail.

Thiamine is a water-soluble vitamin which is flushed out of our body on regular basis. Our is unable to store this vitamin, therefore it becomes necessary to replenish the supply daily. One good thing about this vitamin is that it is required in large amounts, and we can easily get enough of it from our diet. The problem, however, is for those individuals who abuse alcohol regularly. They are at a huge risk for thiamine deficiency, and are exposed to a number of serious medical disorders of the brain.

Types of Beriberi

Beriberi is a diseases which results when your body does not have enough thiamine. It is characterized by extreme weakness. There are two types of beriberi that you need to be aware of. First one is called wet beriberi and the second one is called dry beriberi. The different between the two types of beriberi is the organs they affect. Wet beriberi affect our cardiovascular system and dry beriberi affects our nervous system.

There is another type of beriberi that we do not often hear about as it is not common. It is called genetic beriberi. Individuals inherit this from their parents, and it is passed down families in this fashion. It is important for individuals to be informed about this condition and look out for symptoms themselves. Beriberi commonly occurs in alcoholic abusers. Self monitoring of symptoms is suggested because doctor may miss the diagnosis if you are not an alcoholic abuser.  

As stated earlier in this article, beriberi is very rare in United States. Our foods are highly enriched in thiamine and deficiencies rarely occur (except alcoholics). So you must be wondering why alcoholics are at greater risk of beriberi? A simple answer to that question is that alcohol impairs your ability to absorb thiamine. You may be consuming plenty of thiamine from your food or supplements, but it is not getting absorbed, then your body can't use thiamine.

Breastfeeding mothers also need to be cautious. If they are thiamine deficient  their infants are also at the risk of beriberi since they get thiamine from their mothers.

Symptoms of Beriberi

So now we know different types of beriberi, let's look at the symptoms of beriberi that we need to watch out for. According to University of Maryland Medical Center, symptoms of beriberi include swelling, tingling, burning sensation in hands and feet, confusion, breathing troubles because of the fluid in lungs, uncontrolled eye movement (which is called nystagmus).

Thiamine deficiencies can be easily treated by consuming foods rich in thiamine. If you are not an alcoholic, then you are not at a huge risk for beriberi. As long as your diet is healthy and nutrient rich, you should be getting adequate amounts of thiamine from your diet to prevent deficiency. Foods these days are further enriched with vitamin B1 to prevent deficiencies.

I hope this article helped you understand somewhat about beriberi and hope that you can use this information to modify your diet if needed. Feel free to share it with others if it helped. Thanks for reading.


Sources:
www.umm.edu/ency/article/000339.htm
www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b1-000333.htm
www.uh.edu/engines/epi567.htm

What is Thiamine (Vitamin B1)

Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, is one of the many vitamins that we need to stay healthy. It belongs to the group of B vitamins which contain 8 vitamins in total. Collection of these vitamins is called B-complex, which can be found at your local drug stores.

Thiamine plays various roles in our body, but its major role is to convert carbohydrates into glucose. Glucose is then converted into ATP, which is the energy currency for our cells. Vitamins of B complex play a similar role in our body, they help us feel energetic. since the major function of these vitamins is to help produce energy, this benefit is quite obvious. But, vitamin B also provide many other health benefits, such as healthy live, skin, hair and eyes.

Another important feature of this vitamin is its ability to dissolve in water. This property of thiamine is termed water-solubility. So what does that mean for us? It means that our body is unable to store thiamine in our body and all the leftover is flushed out of body. Vitamins B and C are the only ones that are water soluble, all others are water-insoluble and can be stored in our body for longer durations.

Vitamin B1 is also referred to as the "anti-stress" vitamins because of its ability to help an individual withstand stressful conditions. It does it my strengthening the immune system.

Thiamine is found in both plants and animal sources. There are many foods rich in thiamine that you can consume to prevent any deficiencies from occurring. Thiamine deficiencies are however very rare and are found mostly in alcohol abusers.

How can you determine if you are thiamine deficient? You can look for the following deficiency symptoms. Symptoms of thiamine deficiency in most people include fatigue, irritability, depression, and abdominal pain or some sort of discomfort. It is recommended that you visit your doctor for regular check-ups to ensure you remain healthy and prevent any deficiencies at early stage.

In conclusion, thiamine is an important vitamin for our brain. Although the deficiencies are rare, we still need to look out for deficiency symptoms and get medical help whenever deemed necessary. To remain healthy, we also need to make sure that we are not missing other essential vitamins. A good diet, rich in all the nutrients, is necessary to remain healthy and enjoy peaceful life.

References:
www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b1-000333.htm