Beriberi is a disease in which the body does not have enough thiamine (vitamin b1).
Those people with most risk of getting the disease are alcoholics. Drinking much can lead to poor nutrition and alcohol makes it harder for the body to store thiamine. Beriberi occurs in breast-fed infants when the mother's body is lacking in thiamine. The disease was often found in Asian countries (especially in the 19th century) because those countries believe that polished white rice was a staple food but white rice contains very low thiamine because the thiamin has been removed. A rare condition known as genetic beriberi is passed down through families. People with genetic beriberi lose the ability to absorb thiamine from foods.
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