Role of Thiamin in Fitness and Health

Thiamin, one of the first vitamins of the vitamin B family is the first of the water soluble vitamins to be characterized and isolated. Although its deficiency disease viz. Beri- beri was known for a long time, it was only after its complete identification of vitamin B1 the root cause of beri beri was confirmed.

Thiamin deficiency and adverse health effects

Apart from being a major cause of beri-beri, thiamin or Vitamin B1 deficiency could lead to fatigue, irritability, and lack of concentration. Under prolonged deficiency, there are ample chances that low dietary intake would lead to dry beriberi, which results in muscle wasting.

Even the cardiac muscles are susceptible to this kind of effect. Other major side effects of deficiency of thiamin include, hypotension and pulmonary edema. Apart from this beri-beri may also lead to edema, anorexia, muscle weakness etc. A very disastrous stage could be hallucination, loss of mental stability and coma.

Muscular fitness, body building and thiamin

As mentioned previously, deficiency of thiamin could be a major cause of muscle atrophy and weakness. Exercising the muscles without proper thiamin supplementation could be a major cause of muscle wear and tear. You should also understand it very clearly that, no muscle building workout could be effective in case there is a deficiency of thiamin.

How to ensure proper thiamin intake?

Amongst various dietary sources of thiamin the major ones that could be a part of the regular diet include fortified breakfast cereals, unrefined, unpolished cereal grains. Legumes like pea, nuts are also an interesting source of thiamin. In terms of meat, pork is comparatively richer in thiamin as a dietary source.

Dietary recommendation for thiamin

In case of a normal individuals not indulging in much exercising, the recommended thiamin levels are 1.2 and 1.1 mg per day for adult men and women respectively. In case of individuals involved in heavy exercising the level is set at 1.5 mg/ day. For pregnant women or lactating mothers the required daily amount is nearly 1.4 mg.

Recent Articles

• How Beneficial Are Vitamins for Recovery and Repair of Tissues?
• Vitamins for Women
• Vitamin For Acne
• Health Benefits of Lemon
• Vitamin C and its Benefits

What's More today?

Limiting Intake of Bad Fats

Saturated fats and mostly derived from animal products and adversely affect the health of our heart.... 

Fat Consumption

There is too much emphasis on the relation between fats and weight gain. Although fat has shared it own... 

Hip Replacement Exercises

Hip replacement is a surgery intended to replace the hip joints with an artificial hip and is done if... 

Leg Exercises for Women

Excessive fat around your legs and thighs fat is a common complaint for many women especially those who... 

Knee Exercises

Knee exercises are intended to strengthen the knees and in order to protect the knees the muscles that... 

What to Eat After a Workout

Squeezing a daily fitness regime along with a well planned diet into a fast paced lifestyle is not easy.... 

Workout Plans- Workouts for Weight Loss

Permanent weight loss is not about starvation diets and expensive weight loss machinery. To lose weight... 

Flexibility Exercises

Our body muscles should be flexible to reduce muscular tensions and to avoid muscular injury. Stretching... 

Abdominal Exercises- Exercises for Strengthening Abdominal Muscles

Abdominal exercises helps to strengthen the upper, oblique and lower abdominal muscles. Strong abdominal... 

Rotator Cuff Exercises

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles supporting the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint is a unique... 

5 Tips To Prevent Over-training Back Muscles During Rigorous Bodybuilding Workouts

Most people tend to over-train back muscles during bodybuilding workouts without even realizing that... 

7 Most Common Body Building Supplements That Professional Bodybuilders Use

When it comes to buying the best body building supplements, you may find it a quite daunting task considering... 

Key Vitamins That Muscle Building Supplements Must Contain

If you are considering buying some muscle building supplements, make sure you look into the kind of ingredients... 

Kettlebell exercises

Kettlebell exercises are an excellent way to start of an exercise program. This is because kettlebells... 

Unhealthy foods that should be avoided

The foods that you have daily make up what you are. We are aware that we need to have a well balanced...