Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

Requirements:

• RDA:
  
  1.0 - 1.4 mg.
• Daily Optimal Intake:
  
  15 - 30 mg.

Supplement Forms:

• B-complex
• Thiamine hydrochloride
• Thiamine mononitrate

Labs:

• RBC transketolase

Food Sources:

• Beef kidney 3 oz. (0.43 mg.)
• Beef liver 3 oz. (0.22 mg.)
• Brewer's yeast 1 Tbl. (1.25 mg.)
• Brown rice, raw 1/4 cup (0.17 mg.)
• Chick peas, dried 1/4 cup (0.16 mg.)
• Kidney beans 1/4 cup (0.24 mg.)
• Navy beans, dried 1/4 cup (0.33 mg.)
• Rolled oats, cooked 1 cup (0.19 mg.)
• Rye flour, dark 1/4 cup (0.20 mg.)
• Soy flour 1/4 cup (0.27 mg.)
• Soybeans, dried 1/4 cup (0.58 mg.)
• Sunflower seeds 1/4 cup (0.72 mg.)
• Wheat germ, toasted 1/4 cup (0.44 mg.)
• Whole wheat flour 1/4 cup (0.17 mg.)

Signs and Symptoms of Deficiency:

• Adults:
  
  Anorexia
  Ataxia
  Calf muscle tenderness
  Dry beriberi - worsening of polyneuritis in early stages - difficulty walking, muscle wasting
  Constipation
  Indigestion
  Mental confusion
  Palpitations
  Tachycardia
  Weakness of muscles
  Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome - nystagmus caused by weakness of 6th cranial nerve, irritability, disordered thinking
  Wet beriberi - edema starting in the feet progressing upward into legs, trunk, face, and eventually heart which leads to death by heart failure

• Infants:
  
  Cardiac failure
  Cyanosis

Causes of Deficiency:

• Decreased consumption, i.e. a diet exclusive of milled non-enriched rice or wheat or raw fish
• Large amounts of alcohol
• Large amounts of tea

Adverse Effects and Toxicity:

• No known toxicity

Drug/Nutrient Interactions:

• High doses of thiamine may cause relative vitamin B6 or magnesium deficiency
• Furosemide causes loss of thiamine through the urine
• 5-Fluorouracid prevents conversion of thiamine to thiamine pyrophosphate (TTP)

Biochemical Functions:

• Allows displacement at nerve cell membrane so that sodium ions can freely cross
• Required for the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to form active acetate then acetyl coenzyme A
• Serves as cofactor in reactions which transfer aldehyde groups - in glucose, fatty acids, amino acid metabolism

Clinical Indications:

• Alzheimer's disease
• Cataract prevention
• Depression
• Diabetes mellitus
• Insomnia
• Memory loss
• Multiple sclerosis
• Schizophrenia
• Alcoholism
• Anemia
• Anxiety
• Bell's palsy - IM thiamine and vitamin B12
• Diabetic sensory neuropathy
• Glaucoma
• Neurosis
• Sciatic neuritis - IM thiamine and vitamin B12
• Trigeminal neuralgia - IM thiamine and vitamin B12
• Varicella zoster - IM thiamine and vitamin B12

Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).