The ABC's of Vitamins: Thiamin (vitamin B1)

Thiamin is a water-soluble B vitamin. Thiamin is used in energy metabolism processes in the body. It helps cells convert carbohydrate into energy which the brain and nervous system can use. Thiamin is important for growth and cell functions. The recommended daily intake for healthy adults is 1.1 mg for women and 1.2 mg for men. Most people in the US get an adequate amount of thiamin.
 
A deficiency of thiamin can cause beriberi. People with beriberi can have nerve problems, tingling feelings in extremities, muscle pain, poor coordination and may or may not have edema. One of the fascinating stories of the historical discovery of the cause of beriberi was seen in the late 1800s in prisons in east Asia. A physician working in a prison noticed that many of the prisoners had stiff and weak muscles and poor coordination. The staple diet was unfortified rice. He had learned of work on chickens which had similar symptoms when fed the same diet. So, the physician convinced officials to conduct an experiment. He started feeding prisoners the “garbage” bran (as it was considered in the day) that was removed from the rice and the condition went away. The prisoners had beriberi from a thiamin deficiency. The bran from the rice contained thiamin, but when it was removed the unfortified rice was low in thiamin. Today, in the US we enrich white rice and other grains with thiamin and other B vitamins after the bran is removed.
 
Good food sources of thiamin include enriched or fortified grains such as cereal, bread, rice, muffins, and noodles. Other sources include pork and black beans.

Try out this recipe for quick and easy Ham fried rice using leftover rice. 

References:

• National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Thiamin-HealthProfessional/  accessed Jan 2019.
• Adolphe Vorderman's 1897 study on beriberi: an example of scrupulous efforts to avoid bias. J R Soc Med. 2014 Mar; 106(3):108-111