Folic Acid - One of the most underrated vitamins

Folic acid has to be one of the most underrated vitamins around. How many of us have heard of it, let alone know anything about it. But hardly a month goes by without some report appearing on the benefits of folic acid. Not only that, but recently these reports have stressed the additional benefits of vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 when used in combination with folic acid.

At the end of last year, an article in USA Today reported that: "Folic acid has become the darling of nutrition researchers. The unassuming B vitamin has long been overshadowed by sexier nutrients".

The article goes on to cautiously describe how new medical research has recently associated folic acid with a reduced risk of colon cancer and cardiovascular disease, and, in combination with vitamin B12, may have a connection to Alzheimer's disease. The USA Today article suggests that folic acid may become the next wonder nutrient.

I want to quickly summarize some of the history of folic acid, and then go back over the information in more detail.

1992: the US Public Health Service recommended that all women of childbearing age who could potentially become pregnant should take 400 mcg of folic acid every day, either through diet or supplementation. Adequate amounts of folic acid reduce the occurrence of birth defects, such as spina bifida, which affects the spine and spinal cord, and anencephaly, a lethal disorder affecting the brain and skull.

1996: The FDA, a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services authorized the use on labels and in the labeling of food, including dietary supplements, of health claims on the association between adequate intake of folate and the risk of neural tube birth defects. Folic acid remains the only vitamin for which the FDA has authorized health claims.

1997: The FDA mandated that all enriched cereal grains are to be fortified with folic acid. The media begins to focus on other potential benefits of folate, for example, 20/20 aired a segment on the relationship between homocysteine levels (associated with risk factors in heart disease) and folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.

1998: Research reports appeared on a regular basis. For example, in February an original contribution in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that intake of folate and vitamin B6 may be important in the primary prevention of coronary heart disease among women. Then in November, the American Heart Association issued an advisory suggesting that those with a history of heart disease make sure that they consume the RDA of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folic acid.

Now, going back over some of the information, folic acid first started hitting the news when it was reported that US Government recommendations on the consumption of folic acid were not being followed. These recommendations date from 1992 and are that we should all have an intake of 400 mcg folacin daily.

Folic acid is known to reduce the risk of certain birth defects when taken before and during pregnancy. Research has shown that folic acid, when consumed in adequate amounts by women before and during early pregnancy, reduces the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida, a common disabling birth condition resulting from failure of the spinal column to close.

According to an article published in 1997, 66% of us have heard of folacin; 22% know of the Government recommendations on its consumption; 11% know of its association with birth defects; while only 6% know that it is recommended before pregnancy; and only 30% of women are taking a supplement containing folacin. Statistics like these prompted the FDA to announce that manufacturers of enriched breads, corn meals, pastas, rice and other grain products are now required to add folic acid to their products.

But, the benefits of folic acid do not apply only to pregnancy. There has also been a report from an ongoing study of 90,000 women that continues to suggest that folic acid can have a protective effect against some forms of colon cancer. The data showed that over a 15 year period, the test subjects taking the most folic acid were 75% less likely to develop colon cancer.

Then The Journal of the American Medical Association reported evidence from a study of 80,000 women that folic acid and vitamin B6, in combination, can reduce the risk of heart disease. And even more support for the importance of these two nutrients appeared in the journal Circulation, which is published by the American Heart Association. This research linked low levels of both Vitamin B6 and folic acid to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

There has also been research on the association between folic acid and risks for breast cancer. Again, using data from over 88,000 women involved in the ongoing Nurses' Health Study. Among the group as a whole, folate intake was not associated with overall risk, but among moderate drinkers who consumed a half ounce of alcohol per day (which is about a glass and a half of beer or wine) it was found that women with the highest daily intake of folic acid were at a 45% lower risk for breast cancer compared with women with the lowest folate intake.

I want to stress that folic acid and folacin is not only for women - it is just that many of the studies have focused on women because of the known association of folic acid with birth defects. Because of this, many of us have looked upon folacin as strictly a product for women -

But, here are some other reports that have appeared recently,

Insufficient amounts of vitamin B12 or folic acid may cause hearing loss in elderly women, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Research at the University of Georgia studied hearing function, together with blood levels of vitamin B12 and folate in 55 healthy people aged 60 to 71. Those with impaired hearing had lower levels of vitamin B12 and folate than those with normal hearing.

And, finally, probably the strongest reason for both men and women to take supplements containing folic acid is the association between folic acid levels and something called homocysteine.

One of the American Heart Association journals, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology reported a study of nearly 900 men linking high levels of homocysteine to increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

High homocysteine levels are extremely common in the elderly and this substance is thought to contribute both to the thickening of arteries, and impairment of the ability of the artery to dilate.

Homocysteine levels depend both on genetics and nutrition, and research has shown that they decrease with greater intake of folic acid and other B vitamins, especially vitamin B12 and vitamin B6. Also, apparently they increase after meat and dairy consumption.

So, I think everything that we've talked about makes a convincing case for adding a folic acid supplement to your daily routine - and our Folacin, not only gives you the benefits of rapid absorption, but also vitamins b12 and B6 as well.

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