Folic Acid reduces risk of heart disease

For years, researchers and nutritionists have spent millions in finding ways to lower the very high incidence rate of heart problems world wide. One of the leading causes of death, heart diseases are actually preventable if people pay attention to their lifestyle, particularly to what they eat.

Folic acid is a member of the vitamin B group and is essential for cell renewal and growth. It works with cyanocobalamin and ascorbic acid to break down proteins and in hemoglobin production. Deficiency in folic acid may result to poor growth. This is the reason why it is essential for pregnant women to take folic acid supplements. Aside from normal growth, their unborn child is protected from neural tube defects.

In the British Medical Journal, UK researchers clarified the much debated topic of whether homocysteine levels, which is lowered by intake of folic acid, directly affect heart condition. Homocysteine is an amino acid that can cause blood clots if it is present in high amount.

In an experiment, conducted by heart specialist Dr. David Wald and his colleagues, homocysteine levels were observed in three different studies to determine relationship with heart disease. In the cohort study, which involved high homocysteine levels and heart attacks statistics, Wald observed direct relationship between the two. Genetic studies involving people with increased homocysteine level, also gave the same result. On the other hand, alteration of homocysteine levels in randomized control experiments only showed little relationship between the two.

Still, the results of the three studies have clearly shown that folic acid reduces homocysteine levels in the body. Thus, increasing folic acid in the diet can directly reduce risk of heart problems. They are encouraging everyone to take supplements or get this folic acid from rich sources such as green leafy vegetables, liver, kidneys and whole-grain cereals.