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Don't stop taking folic acid because of new media reports suggesting it may not prevent heart disease.
Instead, listen to British professor and vitamin researcher David Wald, writing in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal. He advises taking 800 mcg of folic acid a day to help save yourself from heart attacks and strokes.
He says firm evidence shows that 800 mcg folic acid is the "optimal" dose that lowers blood homocysteine in nearly all adults and that 96 "observational" studies find that people with high homocysteine have an increased 25% risk of heart attacks and strokes. So taking folic acid makes sense, especially since, Wald says, "There is no evidence of harm" from it.
The fact that recent clinical trials do not show that folic acid prevents heart attacks is not proof of ineffectiveness, contends Wald. These "randomized controlled" trials" have been too small, of too short a duration and inconclusive. Further, they were mostly conducted on heart patients sometimes with advanced disease--and not typical of a general population. *
Harvard's Dr. Eric Rimm agrees that folic acid should not be written off as ineffective against heart disease, also noting that folic acid may do more to protect the heart than just reduce homocysteine.
Most important, the benefits of folic acid go far beyond the heart. Folic acid supplements have dramatically reduced the risk of certain cancers, slowed brain aging and slashed the risk of Alzheimer's in half.
A recent Dutch study found that older people who took 800 mcg of folic acid daily slowed brain aging by 5 years, meaning at age 60 they had the memory of someone age 55.
A large Harvard study found that women who took folic acid supplements slashed their risk of colon cancer by 75%. Folic acid in food did not help prevent the cancer.
Bottom Line: That's enough reason to take 800 mcg folic acid a day, and if it also helps your heart, it's even better.
*Source: Wald DS, BMJ 2006;333:1114-1117
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