The Vitamin b1 or thiamine Functions as a fundamental component of the body's different metabolic processes. It helps productively in the process of synthesis of carbohydrates, thus acting as one of the most important energy transformers. It also contributes to a better functioning of the nervous system and to the good maintenance of the skin.
We will explain in the following article in depth the multiple particulars of its composition and its different effects, whether beneficial or negative, as well as some practical advice when it comes to ingesting it.
Characteristics of vitamin B1
What is Vitamin B1? To begin with, it should be noted that it is also more commonly referred to as. It is defined as an essential water-soluble vitamin, and a micronutrient belonging to the B complex.
In less introductory terms, it is a vitamin composed of 2 different cyclic structures interconnected in the form of a ring by a small bridge of methylene, one of them pyrimidine with an amino group and a thiazol sulfur ring.
Its composition makes its composition soluble in water and insoluble in alcohol within the small intestine, being one of the most unstable vitamins available.
History
The history of its discovery is practically recent. The first contact took place between the years 1879 and 1910, where several scientists came to use a diet with isolated and combined nutrients to find out what was the cause of organ failure related to Beriberi disease , Where they discovered that there were unknown nutrients and that iron and phosphorus were not the main cause of this.
At the end of the 20th century, the Dutch C. Eijkman, a military doctor conducted the study with birds. His conclusion, together with two other colleagues, Grijins and Vordermann, resulted in ground rice producing polyneuritis in animals, and beriberi in humans.
Science found an answer where the polished rice produced the nervous poison that created the disease and that on the other hand, a substance that neutralized the poison was born in the whole rice. Despite this, studies on this vitamin had a long way to go.
About ten years later, in 1910, the Japanese Umetaro Suzuki decided to reopen the investigation based on knowing the way rice bran cured the beriberi patients.
After an arduous process, the scientist concluded that this was thanks to a type of?? acid? Which he would call abérico. Even so, he was not able to decipher the chemical composition it contained.
Some 16 years later, in 1926, Jansen and Donath decided to continue with the study initiated by Umetaro Suzuki. In this way the abaric acid of the bran of the rice came to crystallize. It was on this occasion when they decided to change its name naming it aneurina since it was identified like antineurítica vitamin where this time yes they were able to discover its composition, which was already already reported in its totality by Robert R. William in 1935.
After several years, it finally adopted the name thiamine and found the presence of sulfur and an amino group in the complex molecule.
Properties of Vitamin B1
As mentioned before, it is one of the most unstable vitamins that exist, being able to withstand temperatures above 100 ° C, although if heated for long periods of time it may disappear (for example, when frying in a pan or If cooked).
Among its biochemical properties and physiological effects we find a process of breakdown and oxidation of carbohydrates.
5 Benefits of Thiamine or Vitamin B1
Its benefits are multiple:
- It helps us strengthen the health of our body tissues, favoring the epidermis. This is why our body becomes stronger against mosquito bites for example. In addition and as a curiosity, different studies are currently under way to prove thiamine works as a mosquito repellent. This is because this is removed through sweat and this means that mosquitoes do not like the smell at all.
- It supports the growth of our body and above all improves the functioning of different vital organs such as the heart, muscles, brain and nervous and digestive system.
- The current food intake with high doses of vitamin B1 helps prevent diseases like type 1 and 2 diabetes and protects cells against high blood glucose levels.
- This vitamin coupled with omega-3 and omega-6 acids help ensure an exponential improvement in the health of our eyes and thus prevent cataracts.
- It supports our tissues towards a better development of myelin sheaths, the cover that protects our nerves. When consuming thiamine will be strengthened and will of course help a better functioning of our nerves.
Sources of Vitamin B1
If something is characterized by vitamin B1 is by the variety of food by which it extends, passing through the animal origin to reach the vegetables.
In spite of this, where more prevails its value is in the different types of cereals and seeds. Such importance in this type of food is due to thiamine being in the germ and in the outer layers (you have to be careful with this because if we decide to grind it, a significant percentage may disappear).
This component is extremely powerful as far as time is concerned in cereals and seeds, as they can survive for a year or more if stored in a correct way. If it is attacked by an insect or fungus, its property gradually diminishes.
If we speak of extremes, the yeast is also positioned as an important source, taking against the cultivated roots. Because of this, beriberi was common in the most underdeveloped areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America, since its main food was cassava.
It is also advisable to say that thiamine is a vitamin that is often lost in foods that are often washed or cooked (apart from not supporting long periods of time at high temperatures). That is why it is recommended that people who normally make meals with rice prepare it with the minimum amount of water so as not to lose its properties.
The main foods rich in B1 that we can find are brewer's yeast, sunflower seeds, cereals, enriched breads, legumes, peas, rice, soy milk, beans, wheat germ, egg yolk, fish, ham and pork chop. pig
Amounts required for humans
Synthesized in its pure form, this vitamin is currently measured in milligrams. That said, their amounts vary from one person to another.
Generally speaking, in active users thiamine consumption should be 1.2 mg for men, while women should ingest a total of 1.1 mg.
If we talk about women in a state of pregnancy it would be advisable to eat more, where institutional sources such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization have recommended the consumption of 0.4mg per 1000kcal Ingested
Referring to the youngest of 6 to 11 years it would be advisable to ingest 0.6mg day.
Below we show you first a list with the amounts of thiamine in milligrams that process the food in reference to the quantity provided, and after this one more referred to the necessary quantities per person. Both are provided by the Nutrition Department of the Institute of Medicine and the US Department of Agriculture.
Amounts in food
- Pork: 85 gr / 0.96
- Oatmeal: 1 cup / 1.19
- Oat bran, cooked: 1 cup / 0.35
- - Oat bran, raw: 1 cup / 1.10
- Piñones: 30 gr / 0.10
- Pistachios: 1/2 cup / 0.23
- Corn flakes (ready-to-eat): 1.3 cup / 1.50
- Peas, frozen, boiled: 1 cup / 0.45
- Salmon, cooked: 155 gr / 0.3
- White rice, common, cooked: 1 cup / 0.25
- Orange juice: 1 cup / 0.22
- Orange: 1 / 0.11
- Potato, baked: 1 (150gr) / 0.16
- Asparagus, frozen, boiled: 1 cup / 0.11
- Whole milk: 1 cup / 0.10
- Chicken breast, cooked: 150 gr / 0.16
Recommended amount per person
- Up to 6 months: Men: 0.2 / Women: 0.2
- 7 to 12 months: H: 0.3 / M: 0.3
- 1 to 3 years: H: 0.5 / M: 0.5
- 4 to 8 years: H: 0.6 / M: 0.6
- 9 to 13 years: H: 0.9 / M: 0.9
- 14 to 18 years old: H: 1.2 / M: 1.0
- 19 to 70 years: H: 2 / M: 1.1
Absorption methods
The most common method by which thiamine is absorbed is through a passive system (referred to high doses) and an active one (referred to low doses) where it is phosphorylated.
After being absorbed, it begins to circulate next to albumin and eocytes to be deposited in the form of thiamine pyrophosphate. The places where it is mainly settled are several muscles. The heart, liver, kidneys and brain are the great beneficiaries of this process.
As for the body deposit that can be reached is situated at 30 mg, with its biological half-life from 9 to about 18 days.
Problems and deficiencies
A lack of thiamine blocks the use of the nervous system (since it needs the Carbohydrates Which processes the vitamin), leading to energy deficits and injuries of different types in the nervous tissues and the brain . It also makes us feel a constant feeling of loss of appetite, constipation and in some cases depression.
People who overeat foods rich in carbohydrates, and subsequently decrease the amount considerably, can produce a lack of vitamin B1. It is for this reason that this vitamin is closely related to carbohydrates.
Likewise, the lack of this vitamin leads to the famous disease of Beriberi, which in its most aggravated forms can lead to paralysis of the lower limbs after a first sensation of numbness of the legs. On the other hand, in regular consumers of alcohol, it can develop due to the lack of thiamine Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome .
There are several symptoms in the form of beriberi disease that translate different problems:
- The dried beriberi : The contracting it could attract us to alterations in the nervous system and in the muscular one with sensation of itchy in the fingers of the foot, burning (mainly at night), and cramps in the legs and muscular atrophy.
- The wet beriberi : One of the most serious and dangerous. When we talk about wet beriberi we refer to an overactivity of the heart, making it can faster than normal. There would also be fluid retentions in the legs, pulmonary edema and hypotension, reaching in some cases as a more transcendental problem of death.
- The infant beriberi : This disease occurs especially in children born to women who already suffer from a significant deficiency of vitamin B1. It is usually contracted due to the milk ingested by the babies of the mother's breasts. Its consequences are the loss of reflexes, heart failure and aphonia.
recommendations
- Beverages such as tea, coffee or other alcoholic like wine process tannins, substances that prevent the absorption of thiamine. Therefore it is advised that if one wants to absorb correctly and in its entirety do not ingest in large quantities this type of liquids.
- If we supplement our intakes with vitamin C , AND Y magnesium , The B1 will be strengthened as it helps its absorption. It will also help the rest of vitamin B complex
- Although already mentioned above, it is advisable not to undergo long cooking in either pots, pans or the microwave itself due to its instability at high temperatures.
- When we talk about freezing food for a long period of time can cause a loss of vitamin B1 between 20% and 60% of its composition.