Health and Fitness

Vitamin B₁ or thiamine is one of the water soluble vitamins and it is required by the body for the proper utilization of carbohydrate. It is available in all natural foods in very small amounts. As it is water soluble much of the thiamine is lost during washing and cooking of milled rice. So people are advised to eat parboiled rice and a highly polished stuff should be avoided. Prolonged storage of vegetables and fruits also destroy the thiamine present in them.

Dietary sources

Cereals like wheat, rice, pulses are important sources of Thiamine. It is present in meat, fish and eggs in lesser amounts. Oilseeds and nuts like groundnut, almonds, gingelly seeds are good sources of vitamin B₁.

Daily requirement of thiamine

The daily recommended allowances of thiamine are 0.5 mg per 1000 kcals of energy consumed. Patients undergoing haemodialysis and those with persistent vomiting should be given thiamine supplements.

Deficiency disorders

Beriberi and Wernick’s Encephalopathy are the two major disorders that occur after prolonged deficiency of Vitamin B₁. The Beriberi can occur in three forms; the dry Beriberi is characterized by involvement of nerves, the wet Beriberi is characterized by involvement of heart and the infantile Beriberi is seen in infants of 2 to 4 months of age. These infants are usually breast fed by a mother having thiamine deficiency.

Eating a well balanced diet rich in Vitamin B₁, fresh and raw foods and avoiding alcohol consumption can eliminate beriberi and other deficiency disorders.