Having dealt with vitamin A last week, it’s time to focus on the B vitamins, and today is all about vitamin B1. As you may notice,Vitamin B1 is something we need to obtain from our diet, and since we can’t store it up like vitamin A, we need to obtain it daily. This is one of the reasons a well planned out diet isn’t something to ignore.

The numbers associated with the B vitamins occurred in sequence of their discovery. This was the first to be documented as an essential nutrient “vital to life”, thus the term vitamin, or “vital amine”. 

B1, known as Thiamin, (notice the amin) in the name, is critical in the maintenance of tissue integrity. It’s called the anti-beriberi vitamin. Amines are the foundation of amino acids.

There are two types of beriberi, wet, and dry. Wet beriberi affects the heart and circulatory system. In extreme cases, wet beriberi can cause heart failure. Dry beriberi damages the nerves and can lead to a loss of muscle strength and eventually, muscle paralysis.

Due to it’s importance in maintaining critical body functions, thiamin deficiency has been linked to many conditions, with a vast majority of them being serious. Thiamin assists in the prevention of premature aging. It acts to improve digestion, particularly that of protein. This is where so much of the anti aging properties exist. Reproducing healthy cells requires protein.

Amino acids, (the foundation of protein) need to be available to produce neurotransmitters like serotonin, resulting in more stable emotions and relief of irritability and depression. B1 isn’t just critical in digestion of foods, it’s essential for digestion, absorption, and availability of all the other vitamins. 

Production and regulation of hydrochloric acid, essential for protein digestion, is dependent on thiamin. A lack of thiamin can stall digestion, leading to acid reflux, indigestion, and constipation. Of course, a deficiency of hydrochloric acid promotes protein putrefaction, leading to what’s known as auto-intoxication, where these byproducts of rotting proteins are absorbed and poison the system.

Improper protein digestion and distribution leads to extracellular fluid imbalances, resulting in edema. This condition can be seen in congestive heart failure, which is just one of the heart related injuries which can exist due to deficiency. Overall, a lack of Thiamin can injure the heart muscle, the brain, and the entire nervous system. 

The original vitamin B when discovered was eventually separated into three components. B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin), and B3 (Niacin). Eventually 15 have been identified and separately defined. Many whole, unprocessed, organic, fresh, uncooked foods contain complex combinations of these. This is why it’s critical to seek out nutrient dense, healthy foods to strengthen and support your body, mind, and soul for a lifetime.

Balance is critical to our bodies. This is why so many fad diets end in disaster. When we push one area of the body, other areas suffer lack. A lack of vitamin B1 will restrict production of thyroxine, and can cause atrophy of the thyroid gland. If the general metabolism is increased by administration of Thyroid hormone, (the most dispensed drug in the country) vitamin B1 deficiency can result.

You can’t push one area without a corresponding response elsewhere. The use of isolated synthesized vitamin products sets the stage for many rebound problems. You may get a rapid effect from use of many of these so called nutritional supplements, but if they are not balanced by the plant and animal kingdom, you will have other issues to deal with. Side effects aren’t isolated to just the pharmaceutical offerings.

Besides being among the first of the vitamins to be discovered and identified, is it any wonder this B vitamin gets the number 1 associated with it? This is one of my first go-to nutrients when addressing heart weakness. Subclinical beriberi is rampant in the U.S. and usually treated with drugs instead of nutrition. My favorite support when thiamin is needed is Cataplex B from Standard process. This is a balanced food complex, rich in vitamin B1.

Let’s get this new year started off right. For a first article of the year, vitamin A is a great place to begin. Vitamin A was the first vitamin to be recognized as vital to life. McCollum and Davis discovered it in 1915. They found that certain lab animals, when deprived of certain foods like butter and animal fats, developed eye disease which eventually led to blindness. In cases which hadn’t developed too far, the addition of proper foods was able to reverse the condition.

Investigating foods with protective properties led them to the discovery of yellow pigmented foods and the green leaves of some foods, which also provided this element. Their work proved that food plays a major role in protecting certain parts of the body. They found that low grade infections occurred in the eyes, tonsils, lymphatic system, sinuses, ears, etc. Basically, mucous membranes throughout the body.

You would think, with the body being able to store vitamin A to a considerable extent, that deficiencies wouldn’t be all that common. It’s critical to store up abundantly in our youth so as to avoid many health pitfalls.

It was found that upon examination of animals which were killed after withholding vitamin A foods that abscesses could be demonstrated in the tonsils and the sinuses with pus buildup in the ear and mastoid cells.

With the massive abuse of antibiotics used for repeated childhood ear infections, this should send a signal to all of humanity that our kids aren’t suffering from an antibiotic deficiency, but instead, they’ve not been getting vitamin A from the get go. If this critical nutrient were present in abundance, ear infections would be rare indeed. Unfortunately, bringing in the vitamin A after the infection has already set in, is like closing the gate after the horse has been stolen. 

An ear infection is screaming that we need to improve the supply of vitamin A. When dealing with infection which has already set in, we need to address the rest of the vitamins. Vitamin B complex is required to promote metabolism and toxin removal. Vitamin C promotes phagocytosis, and vitamin D maintains blood calcium levels, which is known to increase resistance and infection elimination.

So, how do we load up on vitamin A early on to avoid these infections. Vitamin A should be abundant in Mother’s milk, provided she’s consuming high vitamin A foods like butter, healthy animal fats, and yellow vegetables. Unfortunately many mothers either choose not to nurse their babies, or have difficulty with their milk. Although formulas claim to be fortified to be every bit as beneficial as mother’s milk, we still see an abundance of ear infections. Not good enough?

Are there ways to increase vitamin A ingestion in our babies? Absolutely. When adding foods other than mother’s milk, introduce yellow vegetables like Squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and yams. Green foods are also acceptable in the first stages of nutrition. Unfortunately, cereals, fruits, and fruit juices are frequently the first thing baby gets. Unfortunately, these add to the glycemic load and can initiate allergies and obesity.

Since vitamin A is responsible for maintaining the health and integrity of epithelial tissues, many secondary syndromes can arise as a result of deficiency in this area. Mild deficiencies of this nutrient result in retarded growth, gastrointestinal disturbances, low resistance to pathogenic invasion, keratinization of epithelial cells, cutaneous eruptions, and impaired function of visual purple (pigment that allows us to see).

In looking at gastrointestinal disturbances, consider the dramatic rise in gluten intolerance. This is something which was virtually unknown when I was young. Today, it’s one of the fastest growing concerns in our country. 

Since vitamin A protects our tissues against immune attack, those with repeated bronchitis, pneumonia, even the common cold, should assume they’re probably deficient. Synthetic vitamin A in fortified foods doesn’t cut it. You need real food nutrition. In cases of cystitis where no offending organism is detected, immediate relief may be obtained with a whole food vitamin A support like Cataplex A from Standard Process, or their whole food nutritional support known as Catalyn. This is a complete support which far surpasses any commercial vitamin supplement out there.