Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) And Why We Need It

Vitamin B1, also known as Thiamine, is needed by the body to help your body by converting blood sugar into energy.  Thiamine also helps keep out mucous membranes healthy and is also needed to help in the function of our nervous system, cardiovascular and muscular systems.

Vitamin B supplements are known as water-soluble and because they cannot be stored in the body.  Therefore any vitamins that are not used by the body are excreted in the urine.  Because of this factor you need a continuous supply of them either in your food or by taking a vitamin B complex supplement daily.

The best source of Vitamin B1 or Thiamine are pork, whole grain cereals, rye or whole-wheat flour, wheat germ or navy and kidey beans.

A deficiency in B1 is rare in the developed countries but infants can have a low B1 if they are feed formula that doesn’t have added B1 or anyone that drinks alcohol to an excess can have the disease known as Beriberi.  This condition involves confusion, muscle wasting, nerve problems and a rapid heart rate.

To get the most vitamins out of your food, you must refrigerate fresh produce and keep milk and grains away from bright light.  Vitamins are easily destroyed or washed out during the improper preparation and storage.  If you are taking a B vitamin supplement you should store the bottle in a dry place at room temperature.
Our brains use Thiamine to help convert glucose or blood sugar into fuel.  If we didn’t have this ability the brain can rapidly run out of energy.  This can then lead to fatigue, depression, irritability, and/or anxiety. A deficiency can also lead to problems with our memory, a loss of our appetite, insomnia and gastrointestinal disorder.  If we consume too much of refined carbohydrate, such as simple sugars this can lead to a drain of the body’s supply of B1.

Thiamine in our foods can be easily degraded.  When sulfites are added to foods as a preservative they attack thiamine at a cellular level, thereby depleting the amount of B1 that is available in our food.  It is recommended that everyone should buy fresh produce and foods so that the vitamins are at the greatest level available.  Eating fast foods on a regular basis is one of the causes of the populations lowered intake of adequate amounts of vitamins.  This is the reason that some of us must be taking extra vitamins in our daily intake of foods, to supplement those that we aren’t getting in our diet.

Vitamin B1 Thiamine

How To Fight Depression With Vitamin B-Complex

B-complex vitamins are necessary to maintain emotional and mental well being.  Because these vitamins cannot be stored in our bodies, we need to make sure we get the required amount daily either through a well balanced diet or through daily supplements.

What is the correlation between Vitamins and Depression?  It has been found by research that a variety of deficiencies of certain B vitamins may lead to symptoms of depression.

The first signs of insufficient amounts of Vitamin B complex are mood changes, insomnia, changes in appetite, a craving for sugar and an impaired drug metabolism.  The B vitamin group of supplements play a role in alleviating depression and in reducing anxiety and restlessness that may be apart of the depression.

B1 is needed by our bodies for nerve stimulation and for metabolism of carbohydrates for brain energy along with body energy.  A deficiency of this vitamin may include mood disorders, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, and/or night terrors. The brain uses B1 or Thiamine to convert blood sugar into fuel.  If B1 is in short supply, your brain will run low of energy very quickly leading to fatigue, anxiety, depression , irritability, and maybe suicidal thoughts.

B2 deficiency can produce adverse personality changes, including aggressive personality alterations.

B3 deficiency can be associated with depression by irritability and other mental disturbances.  With a minor deficiency of B3 you may have agitation and anxiety but the a major deficiency of B3 you may have dementia and psychosis.

B5 is needed in the formation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which can be related to some forms of depression.  Deficiency in this vitamin can also cause depression, fatigue and allergies.  B5 is needed by our body for the uptake amino acids and acetylcholine which is required to combine together to prevent depression.
Serotonin, melatonin, and dopamine are all needed for neurotransmitters in our brain.  These 3 keep us feeling good.  The more we have the better we feel.

B6 is needed by our bodies to help in the regulating our mood disorders and is the most implicated of all of the B vitamins in the cause and treatment of depression.  B6 is needed to manufacture these crucial neurotransmitters in our brain.
B12 can cause mental changes that cause a difficulty in concentrating or remembering, mental fatigue and low moods.  Or all the way to severe depression and intense agitation.  The most serious problem of a B12 deficiency can lead to an oxygen transportation problem known as pernicious anemia.  This can lead to mood swings, paranoia, irritability, hallucinations, confusion, dementia, dizziness, heart palpitations, weakness, shortage of breath, and tingling sensations in the extremities.    The deficiency of this vitamin is more critical as we grow older.

B Vitamin’s can be destroyed by eating such things as refined sugar, caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.  If you continue to ingest these items then you need to be taking a Vitamin  B-Complex supplement daily.

The daily dose of vitamin B-complex recommended are between 50-100mg.  This dose is much higher than you find in most multivitamins.  So taking a recommended B-Complex supplement for your daily requirements.  The large doses of vitamin B can turn your urine bright yellow, this is perfectly normal.  B vitamins should be taken in a complex supplement rather than an individually as they work together.  Also they should be taken with meals to ensure that they are properly broken down and absorbed by the digestive enzymes.  B vitamins should be taken early in the day as they may cause insomnia if taken at night.

Vitamin B Complex