THIAMINE

Also known as: Vitamin B1, Thiamin, Aneurine

Thiamine is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin, meaning that it is needed daily for optimum efficiency.

Recognized as one of the first vitamins, thiamine was discovered in 1911, when the German chemist Casimir Funk isolated it from rice bran extracts.

Funk coined the term “vitamin” to portray the “vital” role of thiamine.

Most multivitamin/mineral supplements contain adequate amounts of thiamine to meet the RDI (recommended daily intake), so thiamine-only supplements are generally unnecessary.

Certain medical conditions make extra thiamine intake essential, such as people suffering from alcoholism, crohn’s disease or folate deficiencies.

People who require kidney dialysis or are taking certain medications, as well as those who regularly eat certain foods that can interfere with the absorption of thiamine and who have a high intake of calories may need more thiamine than the rest of us.

Thiamine Defeciencies:

Thiamine deficiencies are most commonly seen in elderly people and malnourished infants in the United States.

People suffering from alcoholism are at risk for thiamine deficiencies because large amounts of alcohol can diminish the body’s absorption of this important vitamin.

Symptoms that result from thiamine deficiencies include:

• Constipation
• Edema
• Enlarged liver
• Fatigue
• Forgetfulness
• Gastrointestinal disturbances
• Heart changes
• Irritability
• Labored breathing
• Loss of appetite
• Muscle atrophy
• Nervousness
• Numbness of the hands and feet
• Pain and sensitivity
• Poor coordination
• Tingling sensations
• Weak and sore muscles
• General weakness
• Severe weight loss

Beriberi is a disease that is due to a deficiency in thiamine. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, while dry beriberi affects the nervous system.

Beriberi is rare in the United States, as well as other developed nations, and usually occurs in patients who suffer from alcoholism.

Home Remedies using Thiamine:

Benefits and Uses of Thiamine:

Thiamine is needed in every part of your body to make energy in order to function day in and day out. Thiamine is known to:

• Enhance circulation
• Assist in blood formation, carbohydrate metabolism and the production of hydrochloric acid
• Optimize cognitive activity and brain function
• Produce positive effects on energy, growth, normal appetite and learning capacity
• Enhance muscles tone of the intestines, stomach and heart
• Maintain the nervous system
• Protect the body from effects of aging, alcohol consumption and smoking

Thiamine has been useful in treating the following conditions:

• Easing the symptoms of cognitive heart failure
• Slowing the progression of the HIV to AIDS (as well as improve the survival of AIDS)
• Alcoholism
• Reducing the build-up of smooth-muscle  cells in the arteries
• Mood disorders
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Preventing or delaying the progress of atherosclerosis
• Epilepsy
• Mouth sores
• Fibromyalgia
• Glaucoma

Side Effects of Thiamine:

There are no known side effects of thiamine. Even taken in extremely high doses, thiamine appears to be safe.