Symptoms of beriberi include weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception, weakness and pain in the limbs, and periods of irregular heart rate. Edema (swelling of bodily tissues) is common. It may increase the amount of lactic acid and pyruvic acid within the blood.
Learn about beriberi, including its causes, symptoms, and when it can potentially be dangerous.
Beriberi is a term used for vitamin B1, or thiamine, deficiency. Vitamin B1 is found in foods like milk, beans, vegetables, meat, and whole grains.
Running low on thiamine (a type of B vitamin) could put you at risk for a severe condition called beriberi. Beriberi is rare in the United States, as many foods are rich in thiamine. However, alcohol abuse, anorexia, and other conditions might increase your risk for a thiamine deficiency.
Beriberi is rare in the United States. This is because many foods are now vitamin enriched. If you eat a normal, healthy diet, you should get enough thiamine. Today, beriberi occurs mostly in people who drink too much alcohol. Drinking heavily can lead to poor nutrition. Excess alcohol makes it harder for the body to absorb and store vitamin B1.
Beriberi is a potentially severe nutritional deficiency disorder primarily caused by a lack of thiamine (vitamin B1) in the diet. This condition typically manifests with symptoms affecting the nervous, cardiovascular, and muscular systems.
When the body does not get enough thiamine, more commonly known as Vitamin B-1, it causes Beriberi. Because thiamin is involved in many basic cell functions and a breakdown of the nutrients for energy, a deficiency can cause various problems in the heart and brain that need a constant energy supply.