From The March 2001 Issue of Nutrition Science News

Synthetic Folate Trumps Food Form

by Bill Sardi

The B vitamin folic acid may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease via its ability to reduce homocysteine, an undesirable blood protein. It also prevents birth defects, which a new finding says may be attributed, in part, to folic acid's ability to reduce circulating homocysteine levels.

Plant foods are a natural source of folic acid, but few in the U.S. consume sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables. What's more, natural folic acid does not match up to synthetic. A recent study shows that a plant food-based diet, which provides an average of 418 mcg folic acid per day, reduces homocysteine by 9 percent. A comparable amount of synthetic folic acid, in fortified foods or supplements, reduces homocysteine levels by more than 20 percent.

Bill Sardi is a health journalist writing from Diamond Bar, Calif. He is the author of The Iron Time Bomb (Bill Sardi, 1999).

Reference

1. Riddell LJ, et al. Dietary strategies for lowering homocysteine concentrations. Am J Clin Nut 2000;71:1448-54.