Beriberi: Prevention

A balanced diet containing all essential nutrients will prevent a thiamine deficiency and the development of beriberi. People who consume large quantities of junk food like soda, pretzels, chips, candy, and high carbohydrate foods made with unenriched flours may be deficient in thiamine and other vital nutrients. They may need to take vitamin supplements and should improve their diets.

The body's requirements for thiamine are tied to carbohydrate metabolism and expressed in terms of total intake of calories. The current recommended dietary allowances (RDA) are 0.5 mg for every 1,000 calories, with a minimum daily intake of 1 mg even for those who eat fewer than 2,000 calories in a day. The RDA for children and teenagers is the same as for adults: 1.4 mg daily for males over age eleven, and 1.1 mg for females. During pregnancy, an increase to 1.5 mg daily is needed. Because of increased energy needs and the secretion of thiamine in breast milk, breast feeding mothers need 1.5 mg every day. In infants, 0.4 mg is advised.

The best food sources of thiamine are lean pork, beef, liver, brewer's yeast, peas and beans, whole or enriched grains, and breads. The more refined the food, as in white rice, white breads, and some cereals, the lower the thiamine. Many food products are enriched with thiamine, along with riboflavin, niacin, and iron, to prevent dietary deficiency.

During the milling process, rice is polished and all the vitamins in the exterior coating of bran are lost. Boiling the rice before husking preserves the vitamins by distributing them throughout the kernel. Food enrichment programs have eliminated beriberi in Japan and the Phillipines Like all B vitamins, thiamine is water soluble, which means it is easily dissolved in water. It will leach out during cooking in water and is destroyed by high heat and overcooking.

— Karen Ericson, RN