Medical expert of the article
New publications
Vitamin B1
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
This vitamin should be constantly replenished in the body, because vitamin B1 is water soluble. It does not linger and does not accumulate in the body. Vitamin B1 is very good at fighting neuritis, so people with a depleted nervous system should always include it in the diet.
The properties of vitamin B1
Its second name is thiamine. This vitamin can be treated thermally, because it has the ability to withstand very high temperatures - up to 140 degrees. But this property is retained only in an acidic environment, and in neutral or alkaline when heated, vitamin B1 begins to break down.
Daily requirement for thiamine
It ranges from 1.6 to 2.5 mg for a male, 1.3 to 2.2 mg for a woman, and 0.5 to 1.7 mg for a child under 16 years of age.
[When you need high doses of vitamin B1
- Under heavy loads - mental and physical
- During physical education and sports
- When the diet is saturated with carbohydrates
- When a person works in conditions of low temperatures (for example, in a country with a cold climate)
- Under stress
- When the body is saturated with toxins (including alcohol and tobacco)
- In pregnancy
Effect on the body of vitamin B1
This vitamin activates the metabolism, and therefore helps to control weight. Vitamin B1 is involved in carbohydrate metabolism, as well as in the exchange of amino acids. Thiamin (vitamin B1) helps the products to oxidize so that they can actively split in the body. Thanks to vitamin B1 fatty acids are formed, and also promotes the transition of carbohydrates from flour and other high-calorie foods to fats.
Symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency
- Broken attention and bad memory
- Depressive state
- Constant feeling of fatigue
- The hands are shaky
- Obsessive thoughts and feelings of inferiority
- Strong and groundless irritability
- Bad sleep
- Severe headaches
- Weakness in muscles
- Poor appetite and its constant decline
- Delayed breathing and shortness of breath even at low loads
- Heart beats often and unevenly
- Severe pain in calves
- Burning sensations in the skin of the hands and feet
Stability of thiamine
Vitamin B1 is able to break down when cooking, that is, the thermal drops on it are detrimental. Vitamin B1 also breaks down when storing foods, and the more it collapses, the more they are stored.
Causes of thiamine deficiency
If the body lacks vitamin B1, then you need to reconsider your diet. Vitamin B1 can be missed if a person consumes a lot of carbohydrates, often drinks alcoholic beverages, consumes a lot of coffee. When a person is in a state of stress, the amount of thiamine is constantly decreasing.
Deficiency of thiamine occurs when a lot of protein food is on the menu of a person.
What foods contain a lot of vitamin B1
- In pine nuts - 33, 8 mg
- In the pistachio nuts - 1 mg
- In peanuts, 0.7 mg
- In pig meat - 0.6 mg
- In lentils - 0, 5 mg
- In oatmeal, 0.49 mg