Thiamine Deficiency, Carbohydrates & Autoimmune
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
Related Articles
- Thiamine is Vital regarding Myasthenia Gravis
- Heart Disease Linked to Thiamine Deficiency
- Thiamine Therapy Resolves Lactic Acidosis
April 4, 2016 @ 10:03 pm
What an inspiration you are!!! I came across your website by accident researching niacin and I am SO happy I did!!! Reading your story was like you were mimicking MY life! I was diagnosed with MS in ’97 and back then NOTHING was available online like it is now. “Diet” was eat a “well balanced” one! WRONG!!!!! My sister in-law is an avid health freak and she forwarded a “vitamin and mineral” mini series by an orthomolecular doctor named Andrew Saul. I bought his Doctor Yourself book and I have been following Dr. Klenner’s MS recipe. I have been feeling mildly better but I STILL HAVE PAIN and THAT I could do without! Please, please, PLEASE tell me how you “got your life back” because I will do whatever it takes! I would love to walk WITHOUT a walker, regain my balance, and become INDEPENDENT AGAIN!!! Thank you.
April 5, 2016 @ 8:13 am
Hello Donna! Thank you for your kind words. Feel free to send me an email at drmichelle@onlineholistichealth.com
January 23, 2017 @ 3:17 am
I’m reading this through tears. My mom has all of these symptoms and so much more. Right now she has fluid in her lungs and it’s increasing and they don’t know why. After looking at your site, I’m wondering if she has a thiamine deficiency. She’s been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and has all of the symptoms of MS except for brain lesions. I’m so worried… 🙁