Thiamine’s main role in the body is to break down and utilize carbohydrates. Carbohydrates break down into glucose which the body then uses as energy. In order for this process to occur, enzymes must be present. The enzyme that carries out this particular process is dependent on thiamine and is known as thiamine pyrophosphatase.

If thiamine is not available, then the conversion of carbohydrates to glucose is inhibited because the enzyme thiamine pyrophosphatase cannot be activated.

The energy that glucose provides is essential for every cell in the body since most of a cell’s energy is produced from the oxidation of carbohydrates. For more specific information, please refer to Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

 

Thiamine & Nerves

The role of thiamine is especially important when it comes to the nervous system because proper functioning of nerve tissues is extremely dependent on carbohydrate breakdown. If there is a lack of thiamine, nerve tissues are one of the first to present adverse effects, and inflammatory conditions and/or degenerative lesions in multiple nerves can occur simultaneously.

Thiamine doesn’t work alone however,  it requires some of the other B Vitamins, Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin B4 (Choline), and Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine). For this reason, it is best to take a “B-complex” supplement rather than single B vitamins.

In some therapeutic cases, single B vitamins are often needed in addition to the B-complex in order to reverse a disease condition.

 

Thiamine & Autoimmune

When we think of diseases of the nervous system, we often think of neuromuscular diseases such as multiple sclerosis or myasthenia gravis.

Although each disease presents different symptoms based upon where the disease has manifested,

there is evidence that a thiamine deficiency (along with other nutritional deficiencies such as Vitamin D, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B12, minerals and others) plays a major role in the development of these neurological conditions.

Resources:

• Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Injectable Vitamin B1 & Liver Extract
• VITAMINS FIGHT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
•  Effects of thiamine, ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol on neuronal and muscular function
• Modeling neurodegenerative disease pathophysiology in thiamine deficiency: consequences of impaired oxidative metabolism.
• MYASTHENIA GRAVIS A Holistic Therapy
• B Vitamins Work Best Together

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