Dr. Berg Table of Contents
I would say out of all the vitamins that I have worked with in practice , Vitamin B1 is at the top of the list as far as creating effects .
There are many different other vitamins or nutrients that you take .
You don’t really feel much change , at least initially , but Vitamin B1 is different .
You usually see pretty quick changes for a lot of different effects , and that’s what I wanna get into today as well as talking about some of the warning signs and how you would end up with a Vitamin B1 deficiency in the first place .
Functions of vitamin B1
B1 is intimately involved as kind of a a helper nutrient for your mitochondria , the energy factory in the cell .
And so if you’re deficient , you’re gonna have a hard time making fuel .
You’re gonna be tired .
Okay ?
That’s a big symptom right there .
And relating to that fuel in the mitochondria , you need it to burn , glucose .
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The more glucose that you have running through your bloodstream , the higher the carbohydrates in the diet , the more b one you’re gonna need , or you are gonna run out of b one really fast because it’s needed to metabolize this fuel .
And when you run out , you can’t burn that fuel .
You’re gonna be tired .
Now what I mean by burning off glucose , I’m talking about , like , even using your own stored glucose as glycogen in your liver .
So even if you’re on the ketogenic diet , you do still , burn glucose to a certain degree .
It’s not just completely a 100% fat burning or ketones .
Certain cells , certain parts of your body need glucose .
And so there is a different , levels of different types of fuel that you’ll use at any given time .
So b one is , water soluble , which means it doesn’t get stored in the body for a long time , like the fat cycle vitamins , like vitamin a , d , e , and k .
So if you’re doing fasting , right , and let’s say , for example , you’re under a lot of stress and you’re drinking tea , all of these things can deplete b one .
And even if you have inflammation , you can use up more b one .
So if someone is a diabetic , okay , they’re gonna have higher levels of sugar .
Chances are they’re almost always gonna be deficient in b one .
And this is why one of the major symptoms from a diabetic is peripheral neuropathies .
Okay .
So what is that ?
That is a situation where the lower part of your feet , you have this , neurological problem , whether it’s numbness , extra pain , burning .
That’s because you’re low in b one , and that’s where it shows up first .
So you need b one to build the myelin sheath .
It’s like the coating .
Let’s see if you could see this right here , this little wire .
Right ?
This is like coating around a wire .
So that would be like myelin around your nerves , so you need to be one to support that .
And without that , you start getting a short circuiting , neurological issues .
The autonomic nervous system , the main nervous system that controls the flight or flight mechanism and the recovery mechanism , and that’s called the parasympathetic .
And it’s sometimes known as , like , rest and recovery , which works through the vagus nerve needs b 1 .
Symptoms of a vitamin B1 deficiency
And so there’s a lot of conditions related to this vagus nerve b 1 deficiency , like a condition called gastroparesis , where your digestive system is just really slow .
It’s just not working .
Food tends to stick around a lot longer than it should .
This is why a b one deficiency can create constipation .
And part of these nerves also control , the valves on the top of your stomach and even the bottom of the stomach .
So if you have a valve problem at the top of your stomach , you have what’s called GERD .
Okay ?
So you’re gonna have , like , acid reflux , things like that .
You can also have problems with the valve at the bottom of the stomach , and you can actually regurgitate bile coming up into the stomach and then coming up into the esophagus .
And that can act as a very powerful detergent and irritate the lining of your esophagus all the way up into the back of the throat where you might have hoarseness or a chronic cough , and they can actually destroy some of the connective tissue .
And as far as the autonomic nervous system goes , if you are in this situation where you don’t have full sympathetic function , you can have a problem with excessive sweating or no sweating at all .
Excessive tears or no tears at all .
So that has a lot to do with your ability to adapt to your environment .
Like , you might just get out of the shower and all of a sudden just break out in a sweat .
Or if it’s really extreme , you might stand up and feel dizzy .
There’s an extreme version of that called POTS , where the body just cannot tolerate gravity stress .
So you need be 1 .
The importance of vitamin B1
Another common , symptom , probably one of the most common one is you just feel highly irritated .
This nervous tension , this buildup of pressure that , it makes it so you don’t have any tolerance for stress at all .
Boy , does b1 work for that ?
You give some b1 to a person within 3 minutes .
They’re just feeling calm .
B1 is needed to make GABA too , and GABA keeps you relaxed and calm .
And I’m not sure if this next effect is related to GABA or something else , but b one is known to help someone just have a positive mental attitude .
It’s pretty wild .
So if you have people around you that are kind of Debbie Downers or negative people , just slip some b1 into their coffee .
There’s also other , problems with the autonomic nervous system that you can have .
Blushing , like getting a red face , easily embarrassed .
Even the regulation of temperature .
If you can’t tolerate , extreme cold temperatures or extreme , you know , hot temperatures , you probably need b 1 .
Typically , if someone is b 1 deficient , they’re gonna have a tendency to be more cold , and it’s gonna be very uncomfortable .
And in their minds , they’re thinking , oh , thyroid , but they might just need b one .
And by the way , as a side note , b one helps thyroid cases .
If you’re deficient in b one , your pulse rate could go up as well .
So if we think about it from the viewpoint of what causes deficiency of b one , like high carbohydrate diets or , diabetics .
What are the common symptoms for that ?
Well , anything related to the eye , cataracts , glaucoma , kidney problems , artery problems , brain fog issues , heart issues , nerve issues .
So b one can act as a very powerful antioxidant too to counter some of the oxidation effects that this sugar is creating on the kidneys , on the nerves , on the brain , and the eyes .
So if you have cataracts or glaucoma , taking b one would actually be very beneficial .
But just realize that just getting b one from the diet probably is not gonna be enough , especially if you’re trying to , achieve a therapeutic dose to create an effect .
So you’d wanna take some b one .
Another interesting , effect , if you ever driving in a car and someone has motion sickness , give them some b one .
If someone’s trying to recover from a canker sore , give them some b one .
So if someone consumes a lot of sugar , like , I used to consume a tremendous amount , you’re gonna get what’s called restless leg syndrome , which can be relieved with some b1 .
I’ll never forget .
I mean , in the middle of night , I was getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning .
I’m pounding my legs like they were so restless .
They would just wake me up .
It was miserable , and I had no idea it was connected to this b one deficiency .
And probably the Ben and Jerry’s didn’t help .
So remember , more carbs , more alcohol , more tea , the less b one you’re gonna have .
Severe vitamin B1 deficiency
Now you could actually develop more serious , problems with a b one deficiency , a severe b one deficiency in a large heart , edema , and swelling in the lower legs , mental confusion .
There’s another one .
What was that ?
Memory loss , nystigmas , where your eyes are kind of going back and forth .
You you sometimes you see that in children .
I mean , think about how many kids are consuming so much sugar , and they’re highly irritated sometimes , and they’re a bit agitated and restless .
Give them some b 1 , but also cut out the sugar .
There’s something else called ataxia , which , affects part of the brain .
And when you walk , you stagger .
Right ?
You’re not balanced anymore .
B 1 can help that condition .
Hearing loss could be another symptom of a b1 deficiency .
Sleep apnea is another one .
This is why taking b one right before bed can greatly help you with not just sleep apnea , but also panic attacks , nightmares , anxiety , and calming down that excessive thinking that goes on before you go to bed .
It’s not gonna give you a lot of energy .
It’s just gonna actually give you what you need to be able to sleep .
Now one thing that’ll keep someone up at night is not being able to breathe .
The respiratory centers in your brain stem need be 1 .
And when you’re deficient , you’re gonna find you’re gonna have difficulty breathing , and that could be the reason why you can’t sleep .
I remember in practice giving people b 1 , and they’re just like , wow .
I just feel like I can breathe right now .
So it’s interesting .
Breathing is gonna help sleeping .
Anything related to brain fog , b1 can help .
And , also , anything neuritis , like inflammation of the nerve , especially fibromyalgia .
Now fibromyalgia , if it’s on the right side , think gallbladder , taking a remedy like bile salts .
But if you have fibromyalgia all over the place , take b1 .
Best vitamin B1 supplements
As far as the type of b1 , I would would not recommend synthetic unless you’re doing some type of short term detoxification , because the synthetic b one , the way they make it , they use hydrochloric acid , sometimes acetone .
They use ammonia and even coal tar .
So you can’t imagine something that’s made from that is , like , the same as something from nature .
I personally take it’s called Allithiamine .
Alethiamine .
Okay ?
That comes from garlic extract , and I will put a link down below for more information on that .
Another version of the b1 is called benfotiamine .
Now this is a different , form of b1 , and , yes , this one is made synthetically , but I’ve never had a problem with it because it’s not made from coal tar , and it’s in a fat soluble form .
So they made this water soluble b1 vitamin into a fat soluble vitamin , so it can actually penetrate , the nerves in the bottom of your feet .
Apparently , it does not cross the blood brain barrier , but if you have anything related to your feet , okay , feet pain , nerve pain , I would take Benfotiamine .
Another thing you have to realize too , when you take b1 , if you are magnesium deficient , you may find that the b one doesn’t work as well .
So you might wanna find a supplement with either magnesium or even take magnesium sometime during that day , or just make sure you’re not deficient .
Drugs that interfere with vitamin B1
Certain drugs will create a deficiency of b1 , metformin , and diuretics , certain antibiotics .
If someone has a lot of inflammation , chances are they’re gonna be deficient in b 1.
Now if you want a really good summary of all of the functions of b1 , I put everything in one download , click the link down below , and you can download it for free .
