Vitamin B group includes 9 chemical compounds. Thiamine was discovered the first of them, therefore it is called vitamin B1.
These vitamins are involved in the conversion of complex carbohydrates obtained from food to glucose, which is subsequently used for the synthesis of ATP (adenosine triphosphoric acid) - the main source of energy in the body.
They also participate in the metabolism of fats and proteins. Thiamine is indispensable in the work of the muscular, nervous, cardiovascular systems, plays an important role in the production of red blood cells. It refers to water-soluble vitamins - this means that it does not accumulate in the body and does not form reserves: its constant replenishment is required.
Metabolism and Vitamin B1
The main part of the necessary vitamin B1 enters the body with food, the rest is synthesized in the intestinal mucosa. But, given that the vitamin is water-soluble and is very easily destroyed under the influence of various external factors, in many cases it is not possible to replenish the amount necessary for the body only with food. For example, thiamine breaks down when exposed to heat - when cooking.
Adding salt during the preparation of legumes containing a large amount of it destroys the vitamin - you can add salt to a ready-made dish.
When drinking coffee and strong tea, thiamine is completely destroyed, but not under the influence of caffeine, but due to the huge amount of hydrochloric acid, the production of which it stimulates.
A large number of sweets and carbohydrate products leads to a sharp increase in the need for thiamine, and its reserves are quickly depleted. Therefore, children, as well as women after 50, need high doses of vitamin B1. But even at a young age, symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency are observed in 40% of people in this age category: “forever tired” girls who are depressed, restless, and nervous suffer from a lack of thiamine. Depression, which affects a large part of the population, is also associated with thiamine hypovitaminosis.
Causes of Vitamin B1 Deficiency Symptoms
To understand what symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency develop and how to prevent their occurrence, you need to understand the causes of thiamine hypovitaminosis. The mechanism of development of hypovitaminosis B1, mainly, lies in the lack of thiamine, which enters the body in small quantities, in violation of its absorption and assimilation.
Symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency occur:
• with malnutrition or starvation for various reasons;
• during treatment with large doses of diuretics - they wash thiamine from the body;
• with prolonged use of anti-TB drugs;
• with chronic alcohol abuse;
• when smoking (vitamin B1 is destroyed);
• when drinking a large amount of strong coffee and tea;
• endocrinological pathology (diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease).
There are also factors contributing to the development of symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency. These include diseases of the stomach and intestines: it is in the mucosa of these digestive organs that thiamine is absorbed, as well as liver disease, which is involved in the further conversion of the vitamin and its inclusion in the enzyme systems of the body.
With stress and pathology of the digestive tract, the need for vitamin B1 increases many times.
Pathology of the nervous system as a manifestation of the symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency - manifestations of beriberi
Given the functions of thiamine and its scope, the symptoms associated with a deficiency of vitamin B1 in the body are manifestations associated with the functioning of the nervous system:
• unmotivated fatigue;
• irritability or apathy;
• depression, anxiety;
• headaches;
• neuritis of various localizations
• paresis (partial paralysis);
• decrease in short-term memory, intellectual abilities;
• confusion of thoughts;
• bad sleep.
Early manifestations of B1 hypovitaminosis can be general weakness, palpitations and shortness of breath during physical exertion, constant itching of the skin. The cause of chronic constipation is in many cases B1 hypovitaminosis.
Almost immediately, changes occur in the psycho-emotional sphere: tearfulness, irritability, decreased memory and cognitive functions. In the future, polyneuritis develops: pain, weakness and heaviness in the legs, paresthesia in them and a decrease in skin sensitivity, lameness, fatigue even when walking. Paresthesia and pain appear in other parts of the body - the arms and body are involved. The gait changes due to pain in the calf muscles: they become hard and sharply painful on palpation. This is due to a violation of the exchange of thiamine: with its deficiency in the blood and tissues, the accumulation of intermediate metabolic products occurs: lactic (the cause of muscle pain) and pyruvic acid. Patients have a characteristic gait: they step on the heel and the outer edge of the foot, sparing the toes. Over time, tendon reflexes fade, muscle atrophy. These are signs of a disease that occurs in the absence of treatment for hypovitaminosis of thiamine - take - take, its paralytic form. Take - take is a manifestation of thiamine hypovitaminosis. There are three forms of this disease. Described is one of them: infantile.
The defeat of other organs and systems
With the edematous form, the appearance of paresthesia and paresis is preceded by the appearance of edema. Initially, they appear on the legs (ankle joints), then others are involved - knee, hip. In advanced cases, ascites is attached.
Digestive system
Symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency that appear when the digestive system is involved in the pathological process:
• decreased appetite, anorexia (lack of appetite) and a sharp decrease in weight in connection with this;
• colitis with manifestations of constipation or diarrhea;
• dyskinesia of the stomach and intestines with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, secretory disorders.
The cardiovascular system
At the same time, the cardiovascular system is also involved in the process. This is a heart-shaped beriberi. Symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency in its defeat are tachycardia, a sharp decrease in pressure, and the development of acute heart failure is possible. Dystrophic changes occur in the heart muscle, the right ventricle is involved in the process, so there is no cyanosis. Hemodynamic impairment develops gradually. An objective examination reveals
• cardiopalmus;
• swelling of the cervical veins;
• expansion of the borders of the heart to the right;
• auscultation is audible systolic murmur at the apex;
• liver enlargement;
• The appearance of edema and the development of ascites are possible.
Heavy take-take
For the final phase of beriberi, severe malignant variants are characteristic. Severe epigastric pain with radiating to the sternum, tachycardia, shortness of breath, and symptoms of right ventricular failure are characteristic. According to the literature, the time from the onset of the development of symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency to death is 3 to 5 days, but there are cases where the entire symptom complex developed with a fatal outcome in 6-12 hours.
In our country, the severe course of take-take does not occur, only in isolated cases in chronic alcoholics, in people without a fixed place of residence. A complete kinetic picture of the disease is observed among residents of Asian countries, who eat mainly polished rice. It does not contain vitamin B1: this is due to the rice cleaning process.
Gaye Wernicke Syndrome
With the involvement of the nervous system, people with alcoholism also develop Gaillot-Wernicke syndrome: the hypothalamus and midbrain are affected, encephalopathy develops. This pathology is manifested by the following symptoms of a lack of vitamin B1 and B6 (pyridoxine):
• severe asthenia;
• drowsiness;
• excessive sweating;
• tachycardia;
• shortness of breath.
Thus, the symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency are diverse: at the same time, signs of damage to various organs and systems are manifested. The clinical picture is extensive due to the fact that thiamine hypovitaminosis rarely proceeds in isolation. Usually it is combined with a reduced intake of other vitamins of this group - pyridoxine, nicotinic acid, riboflavin.
In objective status, weight loss, lability of the pulse against the background of general emotional lability are noted. Decrease in figures of arterial pressure.
Prevention and treatment of vitamin B1 deficiency
When severe irritability arises for the slightest reason, weakness, incongruent fatigue, insomnia, and decreased appetite, you need to eliminate the lack of thiamine, review your diet, and, on the recommendation of a doctor, take a course of vitamin therapy. The best treatment option is the complex intake of all B vitamins, since their effect on the body is interconnected.
The most effective drugs are:
• Aneyrin (thiamine);
• brewer's yeast in tablets;
• hepatoprotectors Essentiale, Essliver, where vitamin B1 enters as a coenzyme of carbohydrate metabolism;
• complex B vitamins: Neurovitan, Neuromidin, Milgamma Compositum;
• multivitamins: Alphabet (vitamin B1 together with iron is part of the pill number 1), Vitrum, Complivit, Multitabs.
But, in order not to make a mistake with the choice, you must first consult a doctor who will tell you the most suitable drug.
