Benefits of Folic Acid Keep Growing
Benefits of Folic Acid Keep Growing
Folic acid levels can be increased through diet or by taking supplements. In 1996, the FDA mandated that grain foods be fortified with folic acid by manufacturers, which included foods such as flour, corn meal, pasta, and rice. Folic acid is also concentrated in orange juice, green leafy vegetables, beans, liver, and other fruits.
This effort was done to lower the rate of birth neural tube defects. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends a daily intake of 400 micrograms of folic acid. The CDC estimates that food fortification has generally increased folic acid intake by 100 micrograms per day, which Dunlap says leaves a lot of room for people to do better on their own.
"I think it's possible to get the right amounts through diet," she says, "if we can go back to eating a better diet. But supplements also work, and there seem to be more reasons over time to increase folate levels."
Benefits of Folic Acid Keep Growing
Folic acid levels can be increased through diet or by taking supplements. In 1996, the FDA mandated that grain foods be fortified with folic acid by manufacturers, which included foods such as flour, corn meal, pasta, and rice. Folic acid is also concentrated in orange juice, green leafy vegetables, beans, liver, and other fruits.
This effort was done to lower the rate of birth neural tube defects. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends a daily intake of 400 micrograms of folic acid. The CDC estimates that food fortification has generally increased folic acid intake by 100 micrograms per day, which Dunlap says leaves a lot of room for people to do better on their own.
"I think it's possible to get the right amounts through diet," she says, "if we can go back to eating a better diet. But supplements also work, and there seem to be more reasons over time to increase folate levels."
Vital Information:
- Elevated levels of homocysteine are associated with coronary disease because it damages blood vessel walls.
- In a group of study subjects, taking folic acid supplements for eight weeks reduced homocysteine levels by 15%, but once supplementation ceased, so did the homocysteine reduction.
- Folic acid is found in orange juice, leafy green vegetables, beans, liver, and fortified grains.
