From The April 2001 Issue of Nutrition Science News

B1 Lack Spurs Anorexia Nervosa

by Jack Challem

Vitamin B1 (thiamin) deficiency can result in depression, mood swings, and loss of appetite—symptoms typical of anorexia nervosa. Researchers from the University of Leicester in England analyzed nutrient levels in 37 people treated for anorexia and compared them with 50 healthy subjects. Thirty-eight percent of the patients with anorexia were deficient in vitamin B1, 19 percent severely so, while no one among the healthy subjects was deficient. Low vitamin B1 levels were not related to fasting, vomiting, or drinking alcohol, which suggests that some anorexics have a larger metabolic requirement for vitamin B1.

1. Winston AP, et al. Prevalence of thiamin deficiency in anorexia nervosa. Int J Eating Dis 2000;28:451-4.

Jack Challem, known as The Nutrition Reporter™, has been writing about vitamin research for 25 years and is the author of Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Insulin Resistance (Wiley, 2000).