Vitamin B1 deficiency in children easily causes anorexia

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Children lack vitamin B group and vitamin B1 is the cause of many dangerous diseases such as edema disease, neurological syndrome ... in children, severe vitamin B1 deficiency can also cause meningitis leading to death.

1. The role of vitamin B1

Healthy metabolism: Vitamin B1 helps increase carbohydrate burning, not having enough B1 can affect metabolism and glucose regulation. Maintain nervous system function: Not having enough energy in the nervous system can lead to nerve damage that affects the way we move, learn, and remember. Because vitamin B1 helps us extract energy from carbohydrates, a vitamin B1 deficiency can harm our nervous system Supports a healthy heart: production of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is used to relay messages between the brain and muscles, of which our heart is one of the most important organs that rely on these signals. Strengthens immunity: Vitamin B1 not only helps maintain the firmness of the muscles along the walls of the digestive tract, but also helps in the excretion of hydrochloric acid, which is necessary for the complete digestion of food particles and absorption of food particles. nutrients. Boosts learning, fights stress: Thiamine (vitamin B1) is needed to improve your mood and fight depression and anxiety because of its positive effects on the brain Supports health eye health: Protects against vision problems.

2. Vitamin B1 deficiency in children easily causes anorexia?

2.1 Causes of vitamin B1 deficiency in children Some habits such as washing rice too clean also lose the necessary amount of vitamin B1 Children eat anti-thiamin foods such as coffee, green tea leaves or degradable yeasts vitamin B1 such as mold, food for a long time... When pregnant, the mother drinks a lot of alcohol, which affects the metabolism of vitamin B1 in the child's body. Parents do not pay attention to the ingredients when choosing to buy formula that are not balanced with micronutrients that cause vitamin B1 deficiency and make mistakes when mixing formula for babies without following instructions in children who eat formula. Children who lose a lot of thiamin in the urine due to loop diuretics Children who are malnourished, after surgery to remove most of the gastrointestinal tract are at risk of vitamin B1 deficiency Children with severe infections, shock are also vitamin deficient due to the need Cell demand increases and is not replenished in time due to emergency needs. 2.2 Signs of Vitamin B1 Deficiency in Children Vitamin B1 deficiency affects mainly infants aged 2 to 6 months and can be characterized by symptoms such as: pale skin, hoarseness, diarrhea, edema, vomiting, and weight loss. scales, etc. Immediate attention and treatment is required because the acute form can be fatal to infants. For older children, at first, when vitamin B1 deficiency occurs, children have symptoms such as anorexia, vomiting, fussiness, digestive disorders... There are children who are chubby but have pale skin, soft muscles and children appear lethargic. When vitamin B1 deficiency is more severe, children will see a rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, enlarged liver, loss of knee and elbow reflexes. , glossitis , oral infection , skin rash , oliguria , urinalysis for albumin and casts . Nervous system manifestations such as sleepiness, drooping eyelids, tingling hands and feet, numbness, and atrophy of the optic nerve affect vision. There are children with paralysis of the laryngeal nerve causing a hoarse cry. Manifestations of severe vitamin B1 deficiency include: galloping heart rate, right heart enlargement, heart failure, acute pulmonary edema, high risk of sudden death. Various symptoms if left untreated or untreated can lead to serious deficiency disorders such as Beriberi and a number of abnormalities related to the brain and nervous system.

2.3 Does vitamin B1 deficiency in children cause anorexia? One of the manifestations of vitamin B1 deficiency in children is anorexia. Lack of thiamin (vitamin B1) interferes with sugar metabolism. In addition, vitamin B1 inhibits the hydrolysis of solvent cholinesterase to acetylcholine.
When vitamin B1 is deficient, the activity of this solvent changes to a higher than normal level, promoting the hydrolysis of acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a substance used to conduct nerve impulses, especially when lacking, it will affect the transmission of nerve impulses from the brain to places such as the stomach, intestines, glands .. . causes intestinal and gastric motility to slow down, abdominal distension, fecal excretion in the digestive gland decreases, leading to decreased appetite.
Parents make mistakes while preparing food for children using processed starch and white rice as staple food for a long time, which reduces the absorption of vitamin B1 in the intestine. If in these cases there is anorexia, it is necessary to supplement with vitamin B1.
However, to determine the cause of your child's loss of appetite and whether the child needs vitamin B1 supplements or not, you should take the child to a pediatric specialist facility for the doctor to examine and do some extra work. other laboratory tests to make the most accurate conclusions.
Mothers absolutely do not arbitrarily supplement vitamin B1 for their children because arbitrarily giving children Vitamin B1 can have a significant impact on the health of children such as fatigue, headache, edema, heart palpitations .. In addition, children who take too much vitamin B1 will be dependent on drugs, without medicine, children will not eat.

3. Tips to supplement vitamin B1 for babies

Children are growing, the need for this vitamin ranges from 500-900 micrograms per day. Specifically:
From 0-6 months: 0.2 mg/day From 6-12 months: 0.3 mg/day From 1-3 years old: 0.5 mg/day From 4-8 years old: 0.6 mg /day From 9-13 years old: 0.9 mg/day First to supplement vitamin B1 according to each age, it is most necessary to change the diet before considering the use of drugs or functional foods. . Specifically as follows:
3.1 Children who are still breastfed Mothers eat fortified foods rich in vitamin B1 and breastfeed according to their children's needs or supplement with multivitamin drugs so that children can receive vitamin sources. through breast milk
3.2 Children who eat formula milk Parents should note that when choosing formula milk for babies, it is necessary to have vitamin B1 in the nutritional composition of milk, and remember to mix milk according to instructions
3.3 Children of weaning age Please note to add food sources rich in vitamin B1 during processing such as:
Vegetables rich in vitamin B1 are green beans, lima beans, soybean sprouts, pumpkin, potatoes, cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage. curly, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, spinach, tuna, Brussels sprouts and eggplants. Fruits like oranges and dairy products like yogurt, cheese, and milk. Breakfast cereals containing granola, oatmeal, whole wheat, rye, etc. and grain products such as wheat germ, cornmeal, pasta, granola bars and breads are rich in vitamin B1. Some animal sources that are high in vitamin B1 are marine fish such as tuna, mackerel, salmon, mussels and pork and beef. Nuts such as pistachios, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, peanuts and in legumes and yeast. Do not use milled rice, wash the rice too thoroughly to avoid mold. When cooking for children, do not cook rice and cereals too carefully, as this will degrade vitamin B1.

3.4 Older Children Vitamin B1 can be supplemented with the recommended doses above, but it is better to take vitamin B1 in combination with other B vitamins because children often have a concomitant deficiency. Vitamin B1 is one of the water-soluble vitamins of the B group, performing the task of producing energy (ATP) in the body. One of the main tasks of vitamin B1 is to participate in the metabolism of glucid (starch, sugar), helping to ensure that the food taken into the body turns into energy for the organs to use.
In children with anorexia due to vitamin B1 deficiency, vitamin B1 supplementation is really necessary and effective, mothers should note not to arbitrarily supplement with functional foods or drugs without the consent of the parents. pediatric specialist.
In addition to vitamin B1 supplementation, when children are anorexic, parents also need to refer to and add the necessary micronutrients: Zinc, selenium, chromium, vitamin B6... to improve taste, eat well, gain height , correct weight and exceed standards, good immune system, enhanced resistance to less sickness and less digestive problems.
Also according to leading nutrition experts, parents need to be calm and persistent when supplementing with nutrients for children, even through eating or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow children to use many types at the same time or continuously change the types of functional foods. Besides, nutrition experts also emphasized on the role of biological zinc; Parents should learn and supplement zinc for children properly at the appropriate time, to avoid zinc deficiency affecting the comprehensive development of children.
In addition to zinc, parents also need to supplement their children with other important vitamins and minerals such as lysine, chromium, B vitamins,... errands.
To have more knowledge of raising healthy children, parents should proactively update useful medical information on Vinmec.com website and immediately contact doctors and experts at Vinmec when needing support.