Thiamine, Vitamin B1, Deficiency
Beri Beri Tired and Stressed
with multiple complications that seem unrelated
Vitamin B1, thiamine, deficiency can be a cause of many symptoms because it plays so many roles in the body.
It’s one of those “for everything” nutrients.
The categories of symptoms I use here are broader than the commonly accepted 4 categories of medically defined thiamine deficiency called Beriberi, which I outline later.
You may be surprised to find your symptoms under one of these categories.
- Energy
- Weight
- Digestion
- Stress
- Brain function
- Detoxification
- Immunity
- Cardiovascular
- Urinary
- Insomnia
- Hormonal imbalance
Energy
Energy means mitochondria and B1 is essential for the mitochondria of every cell of every organ for every function.
Utilize carbs, fat, protein for energy.
Lack of utilizing carbs is related to diabetes.
B1 or thiamine was discovered in Japan with a form of chronic fatigue called beri beri, which
translates into “I can’t do it.’
The result of system wide collapse is chronic fatigue, which means being too tired to function, it’s not a single thing with a clear diagnosis.
The root causes of chronic fatigue are generally multiple nutritional deficiencies, toxicity and infections.
Weak muscles and exercise intolerance.
Weight
Weight gain is not just eating too much, it’s utilizing and burning the macro nutrients with micro nutrients like B1.
Nutrient deficiencies drive cravings that are hunting and gathering for specific minerals and vitamins.
When the nutrients density of foods is low, or the nutrient to calorie ratio is unfavorable, people eat too much trying to get the micro nutrients what would leave them feeling satisfied when their body knows they can utilize the food they consumed for energy.
Getting sugar into the cells or burning fat, rather than storing fat.
Digestion:
Tired after eating
B1 is necessary to produce stomach acid, HCl.
And HCl is necessary to digest B1.
Digestive weakness throughout the system is typical:
Constipation or diarrhea with bloating that results partly from low energy of all cells.
If your brain is not getting all the nutrients it needs, then:
Stress & Mental health
Irritability
Anxiety
Depression
Tension
Lack of concentration
Hyper
Restless
Disoriented
Confusion
Shortness
Panic attacks
Nightmares
Stress responses are related to brain health.
Brain, Nervous System
Brain fog
Memory loss
Reading comprehension low
Pain
MCS: multiple chemical sensitivities, oder sensitivities: these are over reactions to what may be something toxic or not toxic at all.
Frequent urination including at night can be caused by B1 deficiency in the brain making the bladder sensitive in pressure. This is not the only possible cause of urination frequency.
OCD
ADD
Psychosis irrational
POTS
MS
vertigo dizzy standing up
Sleep apnea
Fibromyalgia pain
Sciatica pain
Cold or hot feet
Sweating: lack or too much
Lack of tears
Motion sickness
Tourettes: involuntary vocalization, twitching
Ataxia gait problem
Immunity
Immunity falls as stress responses become stronger than rest responses that include immune function, especially in the gut where most immune activity is, but also the lungs.
White blood cell operate by mitochondria like all other cells that all run on basic nutrients like B1. The entire body is only as strong as its weakest links in basic nutrients that are involved in all cells and functions.
White blood cells work on infections and toxins.
Detoxification
B vitamins are prominent in methylation a key detoxification process.
Methylation problems are also related to brain problems.
Cardio:
Heart palpitations
peripheral neuropathy
Edema of feet and ankles (swelling)
Reynauds
Tourettes: involuntary vocalization, twitching
Ataxia gait problem
Urinary
Frequent urination including at night can be caused by B1 deficiency in the brain making the bladder sensitive in pressure. This is not the only possible cause of urination frequency.
Insomnia
B1 deficiency can affect sleep it at least two ways:
Mechanism Insomnia: The brain lacks nutrients and has too much stress to turn on sleep activity.
Functional Insomnia: the body lacks nutrients to perform the functions of repair so there is no point to sleeping. It may be lack of nutrients or lack of circulation to deliver nutrients and clear waste and toxicity to deliver nutrients through the extracellular fluids to cells. So we wake up to move, eliminate, eat, etc.
Hormonal Imbalances
Excess estrogen, especially estrodial can correlation to B1 deficiency.
Just so you know how beriberi has been discussed historically, here are the medical categories with a few extra details.
Medical Diagnosis of Beriberi
Based on the Linus Pauling Institute website, Oregon State University
Dry Beriberi Nervous system
Peripheral neuropathy
Diminished sensation
Muscle weakness
Exaggerated reflexes
Shortness of breath
Wet Beriberi Cardio vascular
Palpitations, racing heart
Congestive heart failure
Edema or swelling, like in the feet
Cerebral Beriberi: Brain
Memory loss
Apathy
Brain fog
Lack of coordination
Unusual eye movements
Dementia, Alzheimer’s
Huntingtons
Alcohol related problems and diagnoses --Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
Gastrointestinal Beriberi
Nausea
Cramping
Probably constipation, irregular motility
Gerd, low HCL
Slow digestion, constipation
Thiamine Steelers
Alcohol
Caffeine, including from green tea that has more specific thiamine depleters.
High refined carbs without the B1 in the bran.
Stress
Toxic exposures we all have that require more nutrients to detoxify through many process like methylation.
Toxins include medications of all kinds, chlorine in water, birth control, metaformin, etc.
Measurement
There are no completely reliable lab tests.
The more symptoms you have the more likely you have thiamine deficiency.
It’s cheaper and faster to experiment.
Thiamine Nutrition in a state of depletion can be very complicated and uncomfortable involving detoxing the toxic load that accumulated when you were deficient.
Thiamine supplements in the store probably won’t work if you have serious chronic problems.
People frequently have side effects even after it seems to work for a few days due to dosages and cofactor deficiencies.
Thiamine depends on direct cofactors to absorb thiamine.
All nutrients depend on indirect cofactors, by which I mean all nutrients work together and we are only as strong as our weakest links. We have to level up evenly.
A successful plan is a complete plan that addresses all nutrient deficiencies since you are only as strong as your weakest link.
Deficiencies and needs are highly individualized so I don’t have a standard protocol to offer.
Eat to energize, detoxify & immunize.
Move to circulate, align, & relax.
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