Transcription
10 Signs and Symptoms That Are Deficient in Vitamin B1
Billions of people worldwide are deficient in Vitamin B1 (thiamine), which can lead to health problems like nerve damage, anxiety, chronic tiredness, and many others. Vitamin B1 is an essential nutrient that we need to consume regularly by eating certain foods, and it can also be made by friendly bacteria that live in your gut. Although we only need small amounts of B1 (1.2mg for men, 1.1mg for women), it performs many important functions, such as:
• Building myelin, the outer coating that protects the nerves in your brain and throughout your nervous system.
• Playing a vital role in converting food into usable energy inside your cells (mitochondria).
• Helping to control your muscles in relaxing, contracting, and coordinating your movements.
• Assisting in controlling the glands and muscles in your digestive system.
• Keeping your heart beating at a normal pace.
• Preventing nerve and muscle pain, among many others.
The problem is that when we consume refined/processed foods like sugar and carbohydrates, our bodies become depleted of B1. Additionally, coffee, tea, and other caffeinated drinks can deplete our B1 stores, leading to many different health problems. Unfortunately, it's difficult to pick up a B1 deficiency on a blood test, as more expensive tests are needed.
So in today's video, I want to share with you the top 10 common signs of a Vitamin B1 deficiency, so that you can become aware. Afterwards, I'll also explain more about the causes of a deficiency and how to fix it, so that you can maintain a healthy overall body. Just a quick reminder: this video is for educational purposes only, so do speak to your doctor if you have any medical concerns.
1. Nerve Pain (Hands & Feet)
Your body uses Vitamin B1 (thiamine) to build and protect the coating around your nerves called myelin. If you don’t have enough B1 in your body, this coating gets damaged, causing the nerves to misfire and send pain signals to your brain. This causes burning, stabbing, numbness, or a shooting sensation in the feet or the hands (neuropathy), because these are the nerves furthest away from the heart. This usually happens to people with high blood sugars or diabetics.
2. Anxiety & Stress
The second symptom is anxiety and stress. When you feel stressed, nervous, and can’t seem to relax, this means that your nervous system is locked into a fear state called 'fight/flight' and is using up large amounts of Vitamin B1. In more severe cases, you may suffer from chronic anxiety, sleeping problems, panic attacks, or nightmares, which can finally cause depression. If you have any of these issues long-term, you likely need more B1 to help turn off this stress response and trigger relaxation.
3. Fast Heart Rate
As Vitamin B1 helps to create energy within your cells, it plays an important role in regulating your heartbeat and your respiration. Without enough B1, you may experience a faster heart rate because the heart has to work harder to make energy for the body. In more severe cases, the heart can become enlarged, and you may begin having problems with circulation and high blood pressure.
4. Swelling & Poor Circulation
Your body uses B1 to protect the coating around your nerves and also the blood vessels throughout your body. Without enough B1, your blood vessels are susceptible to damage from blood sugars and free radicals that are present in your blood. This can cause swelling, fluid retention, and edema, especially in the feet or the hands. If you have this, you may also require more potassium in your diet because low B1 can also deplete potassium.
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5. Acid Reflux & GERD
If you suffer from a burning sensation in your chest (heartburn), usually after eating, you may have acid reflux. This is a condition where natural acids from your stomach start flicking up towards your throat, causing burning, pain, and inflammation. Acid reflux happens when the small valve at the top of your stomach doesn't relax and close properly after you eat, causing the acid to leach upwards. However, if you have enough Vitamin B1 in your body, this helps to control and close this valve (LES sphincter), preventing acid from escaping the stomach.
6. Diabetes
If you're a diabetic, you are most definitely deficient in Vitamin B1 because your body will be using higher amounts to handle the high blood sugar situation. It's recommended for diabetics to take a natural B1 supplement regularly, such as allithiamine in higher doses, along with the entire natural B-complex from nutritional yeast to reduce the risk of nerve damage. If you are pre-diabetic, you may also need more B1 to help prevent further insulin resistance that leads to full-blown diabetes (type 2).
7. Over/Under Sweating
People with a Vitamin B1 deficiency may suffer from either excessive sweating or no sweating at all. This is because B1 is involved with the autonomic nervous system that helps your body adapt to different temperatures. Without enough B1, the body struggles to adapt, causing over/under sweating.
8. Poor Navigation
The hippocampus and the cerebellum are parts of the brain that require lots of Vitamin B1 to function normally. Without enough B1, these can begin shrinking, causing you to have problems with navigating, finding directions, and locating yourself in time and space. You may be more reliant on a GPS, for example. Early studies also show a link between low B1 and Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, you can start losing your balance, and your posture may begin to change because of the lack of B1 that’s needed by your brain.
9. Hyperactivity
Both children and adults can become hyperactive without enough B1, and conditions can arise such as ADHD, OCD, Tourette's, and general irritability. B1 is needed to help calm the brain and the nervous system down by regulating the flow of energy through the neurons.
10. Muscle Pain (Calves)
If you gently press the calf muscles in your legs and they feel tender or painful to touch, this is likely caused by a lack of Vitamin B1. The legs may also feel heavy and tired, and you may sometimes experience muscle cramps due to an imbalance in your nutrition. Vitamin B1 works with magnesium to help control the muscles and regulate the lactic acid inside them.
Later in the video, we'll talk about how to replenish your Vitamin B1 (thiamine) if you have any of these signs and symptoms.
6 Causes of B1 Deficiency
1. The first and most common cause of a Vitamin B1 deficiency is consuming too many refined sugars and flour-based foods, like biscuits, fruit juices, soda drinks, jams, syrup, sweets, breads, pastries, etc. Your body uses up its B1 to break down these carbohydrates and turn them into fuel.
2. Caffeine and tannins found in coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks can also deplete your B1 because of how they overstimulate your nervous system.
3. Living in a state of stress for months or years causes a B1 deficiency in the nervous system.
4. Alcoholic drinks block your body's ability to absorb B1 or thiamine from the small intestine.
5. Foods high in sulfites, like wine, gravies, and dried fruits, can damage the friendly bacteria in your gut, which usually make some B1.
6. Finally, certain drugs like antacids, antibiotics, birth control, and diabetes medications can also deplete Vitamin B1.
How To Boost Vitamin B1
Now let's take a look at how to boost and replenish your B1.
1. Eat foods that are rich in Vitamin B1 on a regular basis, such as nutritional yeast, organic pork, wild salmon, sunflower seeds, garlic, squash, asparagus, and mussels. Be sure to choose organic produce whenever you can, as these have a higher nutritional profile.
2. Cut back on refined foods that use up your B1 stores, especially those which contain refined sugar, like sweets, soda drinks, pastries, biscuits, chocolate, etc. You should also avoid eating too much white rice because the outer bran that contained B1 was removed in the refining process. Wild rice is a much healthier alternative.
3. Start taking a daily supplement of 50mg of allithiamine if you suffer from stress, anxiety, or blood sugar problems. This is a natural version of thiamine (B1) that will help to replenish your B1 stores.
4. If you have nerve pain or neurological problems, consider taking 600mg of benfotiamine daily. This is a fat-soluble version of B1 that is 5x better absorbed and penetrates deep into your nerve tissue to help heal any existing damage.
5. I also recommend eating lots of probiotic-rich foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and kefir. These help to colonize your gut with friendly microbes in the lactobacillus and streptococcus families. These help to produce Vitamin B1 inside your large intestine after feeding them with soluble fiber from vegetables, seeds, nuts, and fruits.
Top 8 Vitamins To Repair Your Nerves, tap here.
Thank you so much for watching my video today, and as always, I wish you great health, wealth, and happiness.