Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is typically associated with folate deficiency, which is the result of reduced dietary folate intake, intestinal malabsorption, reduced liver uptake and storage, and increased urinary folate excretion.
CeDAR nurse Gene Shiling developed a protocol to give vitamin B1 –to alcohol users to prevent a type of brain damage called Wernicke encephalopathy. It's vitamin B1, or thiamine, a substance that plays a key role in converting the foods we eat into energy.
Second, alcoholics may develop a thiamine deficit because of impaired thiamine absorption from the intestine (Hoyumpa 1980). Alcohol damages the lining of the intestine and directly inhibits the transport mechanism that is responsible for thiamine absorption in the intestinal tract (Gastaldi et al.
Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are different conditions that often occur together. Both are due to brain damage caused by a lack of vitamin B1. Lack of vitamin B1 is common in people who have alcohol use disorder. It is also common in people whose bodies do not absorb food properly (malabsorption).
Chronic alcohol consumption or alcoholism can lead to thiamine deficiency which can carry severe physical consequences if left untreated. Thiamine (Vitamin B1) plays an essential role in converting food into energy and also affects how your metabolism works.
If you drink heavily, you are at high risk of thiamine deficiency – the National Institute of Health estimates that between 30% and 80% of alcoholics are deficient in this essential vitamin. Since thiamine deficiency can lead to Wernicke's and wet brain, this is a fairly worrisome statistic.
Introduction. Thiamin (or thiamine) is one of the water-soluble B vitamins. It is also known as vitamin B1. Thiamin is naturally present in some foods, added to some food products, and available as a dietary supplement.
Deficiencies of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc are common in alcoholics, although alcohol itself does not seem to affect the absorption of these minerals (15).
Thiamine deficiency, although rare in most developed countries, is common in people who drink excessive amounts of alcohol. Up to 80% of people with an addiction to alcohol develop thiamine deficiency.
An important mechanism in alcohol-induced injury is biomolecular oxidative damage. Folic acid is supplied to chronic alcoholic patients in order to prevent this situation, as this is the main vitamin deficiency that they suffer from.
Chronic alcohol use can cause the malabsorption of Vitamin B12. Shortness of breath, and low energy may be symptoms of Pernicious Anemia. This disorder may need to be treated with an injection of Cyanocobalamine. A physician can easily determine this with blood tests.
With heavy alcohol intake, there can be a loss of magnesium from tissues and increased urinary loss (Pasqualetti et al., 1987; Shane and Flink, 1991). Chronic alcohol abuse has been reported to deplete the total body supply of magnesium (Vandemergel and Simon, 2015).
Chronic alcoholism can lead to vitamin C deficiency in several ways: (1) malnutrition through self-neglect or poverty, (2) malabsorption from chronic diarrhoea secondary to alcohol or chronic pancreatitis and (3) increased urinary excretion of vitamin C caused by alcohol.
Additionally, certain food products such as tea, coffee, raw fish, and shellfish contain thiaminases - enzymes that destroy thiamine. Thiamine deficiency can affect the cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems, as commonly seen in wet beriberi, dry beriberi, or Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
This is why research suggests that an optimal combination of the three vitamins, B1, B6 and B12, is more effective at relieving nerve damage symptoms and restoring nerve function than taking a single vitamin supplement.
Early symptoms of thiamin deficiency are vague. They include fatigue, irritability, poor memory, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, abdominal discomfort, and weight loss. Eventually, a severe thiamin deficiency (beriberi) may develop, characterized by nerve, heart, and brain abnormalities.
Heavy drinkers may benefit from adding vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, and B9 supplements as indicated by symptoms of deficiencies, and under professional medical guidance. Vitamin B1 deficiency can be treated by ceasing alcohol consumption (with professional help), improving nutritional factors, and taking B1 supplements.
Can I drink alcohol while taking thiamine? Long-term drinking or heavy drinking can stop your body from absorbing thiamine (vitamin B1). If you're taking thiamine for vitamin B1 deficiency, it's best to avoid drinking alcohol as this will make your symptoms worse.
Thiamine should be continued for as long as malnutrition is present and/or during periods of continued alcohol consumption. Following successful alcohol withdrawal, thiamine should be continued for 6 weeks.
Alcohol decreases the absorption of dietary thiamine by at least 50 percent and can damage the lining of the intestinal tract, resulting in more malabsorption. Cut out caffeine. Coffee and tea, although less damaging to the intestinal tract, can wreak havoc on thiamine absorption.
In patients at low risk (with uncomplicated alcohol dependence), oral thiamine 250-500mg/day should be given for 3-5 days, followed by oral thiamine 100-250mg/day.
In suspected cases of thiamine deficiency, prompt administration of parenteral thiamine is indicated. The recommended dose is 50 mg given intravenously or intramuscularly for several days. The duration of therapy depends on the symptoms, and therapy is indicated until all symptoms have disappeared.