The importance of vitamins can’t be overstated. Getting the right amount and types is an essential part of staying healthy, both physically and mentally. Thiamine, or vitamin B1, is different from most nutrients in that some of the most pronounced symptoms of its absence are neurological. From memory loss to swollen skin, lack of coordination, lethargy and a host of unpleasant things in between, Thiamine is a perfect example of why vitamins are so important. And the older you get, the more important it is. Thiamine is not only important, but downright vital to fighting off things like dementia and Alzheimer’s.

With thiamine, it’s basically the more the better. Bad things happens when you don’t get enough, but there are also advantages to getting a lot of it. Odds are you don’t have to worry about it, because most balanced meals will give you enough. But despite this, thiamine deficiency is still remarkably, unnecessarily common. If you’re into any of the following, keep an eye on your thiamine intake and consider bolstering it with supplements or a change of diet.

Veganism
Meats, particularly pork and fish, are a great source of Thiamine, as are many dairy products. An entirely vegan diet runs the risk of leaving you without the right vitamins. This can either be countered with dietary supplements, or the inclusion of some key vegetables. Pumpkin, beans, asparagus and sunflower seeds are great sources of vitamin B1. Beans in particular are exceptionally good, the fresher the better. If you’re a vegan, you most likely already know how incredible beans are, but it just can’t be emphasized strongly enough.

Intense Dieting
As you get older, staying in shape gets more challenging. There are literally thousands of “miracle” diets out there, but the unfortunate truth is that there are no miracles. In fact, some of them, like the Atkins diet which requires you to abstain from carbohydrates, will put you at risk of vitamin deficiency. Generally speaking, balanced meals and plenty of exercise is better than dieting, and any regime that makes you cut out entire food groups probably isn’t the best option. In the case of the Atkins diet, you’ll suddenly be losing breads, cereals, grains and the like. Often, these are a person’s primary source of thiamine. While none of them are exactly packed with the stuff, they’re such a ubiquitous part of most meals that they frequently account for a significant portion of your vitamin B1.

Processed Foods
If there’s one thing that’s jam packed with thiamine, it’s brown rice. White rice, on the other hand, has almost none. Similarly, full grain oatmeal and whole grain bread are excellent sources while heavily processed porridge and white bread aren’t. In many cases the more processed versions of foods are much lower in vitamins. This is a common side effect of removing grain husks, adding preservatives and cooking the whole thing up. While stuff like white bread might talk big about how it’s full of added vitamins, it still has only a fraction of what you’d find in wholegrain.

Heavy Drinking
Despite what’s said about the antioxidants and cardiac benefits of a glass of wine, booze isn’t exactly a health food. One of its frequently overlooked effects, however, is what it does to your thiamine levels. Excessive drinking has a way of inflaming the stomach lining. This prevents vitamins from being properly absorbed into the body. That’s why alcohol abuse is such a prevalent factor in mental illnesses like dementia, Wernicke’s encephalitis and Korsakoff’s syndrome. It’s not because too much alcohol simply ruins the brain, it’s because too much alcohol blocks the body’s thiamine uptake which puts one at a much higher risk of brain damage and mental illness.

Mental illnesses, particularly in the elderly, are far more common than they need to be. Getting enough thiamine is simultaneously one of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent it. So… pass the beans?