Thiamine, a water-soluble B vitamin, was among the first vitamins discovered in the 1920s. Your body cannot store thiamine, so you must obtain it from your food. A healthy, well-balanced diet, including meats, eggs, enriched breads and flour, should supply plenty of this important vitamin. A lack of thiamine can lead to brain damage.
Function
Thiamine helps to metabolize carbohydrates so that your body can use them for energy. It keeps your heart, muscles and nervous system functioning properly by maintaining the flow of electrolytes. Another function of thiamine is to produce hydrochloric acid, which is found in your stomach and is necessary to digest the food that you eat.
Deficiency
Beriberi, Korsakoff syndrome and Wernicke's encephalopathy are conditions caused by or exacerbated due to thiamine deficiency. Beriberi is rare and usually occurs in people who abuse alcohol. Most people who drink heavily have poor diets, and alcohol interferes with the absorption of thiamine, leading to a deficiency. Symptoms of beriberi include difficulty walking, loss of feeling in hands and feet, paralysis in lower legs, pain and strange eye movements.
Both Korsakoff syndrome and Wernicke's disease are conditions that lead to brain damage. According to Medline Plus, Wernicke's disease develops first; as those symptoms go away, signs of Korsakoff's syndrome appear. Symptoms of Wernicke's disease include confusion, leg tremors and vision changes. Symptoms of Korsakoff syndrome involve memories, such as the inability to form new memories, loss of memories, hallucinations and making up stories.
Sources
Most breads and flours produced in the United States are enriched with thiamine. Other sources of the vitamin are eggs, meats, legumes, nuts, seeds, peas and whole grains. Check labels to determine the amount of thiamine in a food. Adults and adolescents need 1.0 to 1.2 mg per day.
Areas of Research
According to the Linus Pauling Institute, the effects of thiamine on certain diseases are being researched. Higher intakes of thiamine may help to prevent cataracts. There may be a link between thiamine and Alzheimer's disease; however, when studied, Alzheimer's patients had adequate thiamine intakes but were lacking a form of thiamine that is made in the body. Thiamine supplementation did not help these patients.
If you have congestive heart failure, some of your medications may cause you to excrete more thiamine, leading to a deficiency. In some studies, when patients were given thiamine supplementation, their survival rate improved. Much more research is needed in these areas; consult with your health care provider before taking any thiamine supplement.
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