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Medical Forum / General / Nutrition / December 2004high carb can lead to beriberi, thiamine deficiency
http://phoenity.com/diseases/beriberi.html quote There are two kinds of beriberi: dry; and wet. Dry beriberi is associated with energy deprivation and inactivity characterized by mental confusion, peripheral neuropathy, muscular wasting with loss of function or paralysis of the lower extremities. Wet beriberi is resultant of ***high carbohydrate intake*** along with strenuous exercise characterized by edema, tachycardia, pulmonary congestion, and enlarged heart. unquote The "***" are mine. Very interesting info. TC >http://phoenity.com/diseases/beriberi.html > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >TC There are many kinds of beriberi I thought, but they are due to thiamine deficiency usually from malnutrition. Is this all that interesting? Your emphasised phrase is not causal, but concommitent with the thiamine deficiency. In other words, you can have plenty of calories, but still get thiamine deficiency if your diet is poor. > >http://phoenity.com/diseases/beriberi.html > > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > with the thiamine deficiency. In other words, you can have plenty of > calories, but still get thiamine deficiency if your diet is poor. quote: Wet beriberi is resultant of high carbohydrate intake along with strenuous exercise characterized by edema, tachycardia, pulmonary congestion, and enlarged heart. unquote "resultant of" Does that not equate to causal? The condition results from high carbohydrate intake. That is not causal? You and I are using much different dictionaries. TC >> >http://phoenity.com/diseases/beriberi.html >> > [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > >TC Yours may be one interpretation of the rather poor English, but if you read up on beriberi, you will find that my interpretaion is the correct one. Thanks. Quote from your site: "Beriberi Overview Alternative names thiamin deficiency; vitamin B1 deficiency Definition ***A vitamin deficiency disease, caused by a lack of vitamin B1 (thiamin);*** the most significant manifestations are damage to the heart and nervous system. Causes, incidence, and risk factors ***Beriberi has become almost nonexistent in the United States since the discovery of its cause, thiamin deficiency.*** Most foods are now vitamin enriched, which means that a normal diet contains adequate amounts of thiamin." [*** are mine] And: "There are two kinds of beriberi: dry; and wet. Dry beriberi is associated with ***energy deprivation*** and inactivity characterized by mental confusion, peripheral neuropathy, muscular wasting with loss of function or paralysis of the lower extremities. Wet beriberi is resultant of high carbohydrate intake along with strenuous exercise characterized by edema, tachycardia, pulmonary congestion, and enlarged heart." Note that the mention of carbohydrates in the description of wet beriberi is to contrast it with the dry form, where there is energy deprivation. Wet beriberi is rarely associated with high carb intake in the West, due to the fortification you mentioned. Instead, it's usually seen in alcoholics. And not the beer-drinkers, either. Too much thiamin in beer. I once saw an elderly alcoholic who presented with gross pitting edema bilaterally to his knees. Said his ankles had been swelling for years and his legs for a few months. No lung congestion that I could hear or see on X-ray. On exam his blood pressure was normal and his heart was hyperdynamic, as were his pulses-- didn't feel like the usual case of CHF. His albumin was low-normal but not spectacularly low. On ultrasound he had an excellent EF with no sign of restriction. Tentitively, after a dietary history (he was a bigtime scotch drinker who lived alone and ate very badly) I considered that I might be looking at my first case of wet beriberi. And sure enough, after 2 weeks of B-vitamin supplementation, his edema went away and was never seen again. I never gave him a diuretic at all. SBH |
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