Health & Medicine - Posted by Karen Finney-UC Davis on Monday, November 23, 2009 13:47 - 13 Comments 
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Folic acid: Too much of a good thing?
“Our results show that higher levels of folic acid could set in motion a metabolic imbalance that leads to more serious B-12 deficiency,” says senior study author says Ralph Green. “The fact is that a lot of people are getting more of it than is good for them. If they happen to be B-12 deficient, more folic acid may actually harm them.”
UC DAVIS (US)—Taking folic acid, unless specifically advised by a physician, should be avoided because at elevated levels it may aggravate metabolic complications associated with vitamin B-12 deficiency, leading to anemia and neurological damage, a new study finds.
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“There have been concerns that some people may be getting too much folic acid through a combination of sources, and we wanted to determine if there were reasons for those concerns,” says Ralph Green, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at University of California at Davis and senior author of the study.
“Our results show that higher levels of folic acid could set in motion a metabolic imbalance that leads to more serious B-12 deficiency.”
The study results are published in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Green has had a long-standing interest in folic acid and vitamin B-12, particularly since the mid-1990s, when the government began discussing fortifying grain products with folic acid to reduce the incidence of certain birth defects of the brain and spine. He participated in several expert and advisory committees for the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Food and Drug Administration.
Today, in addition to mandated fortification of cereals and grains, many foods like breakfast cereals can be further enriched with folic acid. In some instances, those foods contain 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance. Knowing that many people also take vitamin supplements, especially as they get older, he thought it might be possible for some elderly to get too much folic acid.
Green and his colleagues conducted the study, in part, to determine if folic-acid fortification could increase cognitive impairment or depression, as a previous study had suggested.
To find out, they evaluated folic acid and B-12 levels in blood samples from 1,535 participants in the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA), an ongoing, community-based study of health behaviors and outcomes for Latinos age 60 and older living in the Sacramento region. Those results were compared with evaluations of the participants’ cognitive functions and depressive symptoms.
The researchers did not find brain or mental-health changes for study participants with low B-12 and higher levels of folic acid. That same group, however, was more likely to take vitamin supplements and had the highest blood levels of methylmalonic acid and homocysteine—two metabolites that are early and highly sensitive indicators of B-12 deficiency.
Green thinks higher levels of these metabolites could indicate adverse shifts in metabolic health due to too much folic acid, and that a larger-scale, longitudinal study that includes participants from additional racial and ethnic groups is warranted.
“We are at an early stage in determining the effects of this biochemical change,” explains Green. “But we’re well on our way now to establishing the facts about how these vitamins can interact and alter body systems.”
In the meantime, since fortification of the food supply has almost eliminated folic acid deficiency in the United States, Green suggests avoiding supplements that contain folic acid, especially since the most significant and potentially irreversible outcome of B-12 deficiency—neurological damage—can be difficult to detect before it is very serious.
“We do have to worry about folic acid supplementation,” says Green. “The fact is that a lot of people are getting more of it than is good for them. If they happen to be B-12 deficient, more folic acid may actually harm them.”
Researchers from UC San Francisco and the U.S. Department of Agriculture contributed to the study, which was sponsored with grants from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
UC Davis news: www.news.ucdavis.edu/
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13 Comments
Elizabeth Bishop-Martin
I have been taking 1 MG tablet of Folic Acid for several years. At age 71 I am beginning to question the advisability of this as I also take a multiple vitamin with 500 mcg and eat a healthy diet. The Folic Acid was prescribed 20 years ago for a gyn condition, so I’m wondering if with aging changes plus the addition of the multiple vitamin may be doing more harm than good.
My energy level has decreased, which I assume may be due to normal aging. I exercise regularly by varying a routine of lifting weights, stationary bicycle, pilates and a water aerobic class for a daily amount of one hour. I’m often quite tired after this routine.
At present I am considering cutting back on the prescription Folic Acid and plan to discuss this with my physician.
Comments?
yvonne
i have took folic acid 5mg 4 a long time i stoped taking them 4 one year becouse they was never on my repeat i have eplesy and have now been told i have high levels of folic acid and also i have had to get vitiam b12 injections is high levels of folic acid dangerous
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EVELYN HARRIS
WHAT IS A SAFE DOSE OF FOLIC ACID ON A DAILY BASE AND FOR HOW LONG?
The proper (not “safe”) amount of folic acid is in relation to B12 as well as the other B vitamins and your age. The problem is that no one has yet performed all the research necessary to determine these exact amounts. Since folic acid fortification is now performed most people are getting the minimum necessary. The original minimum set by the FDA was too low and resulted in cases of spina bifida and other birth defects. You need all your vitamins and minerals all your life. There is some good evidence the amount of any one of them is dependent on such external factors as age, work, gender, diet, and other external factors. In the main, most people in the US get most of their needs. Notice I did not say all. If you suspect something is wrong and no one can determine the problem, discuss your ideas with your physician. That is what he is there for.
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What are natural sources of folic acid?
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Some natural sources of folic acid are calf’s liver, lentils, pinto beans, romaine lettuce, spinach, beets just to name a few.
Since folic acid fortification is now performed most people are getting the minimum necessary. The original minimum set by the FDA was too low and resulted in cases of spina bifida and other birth defects. You need all your vitamins and minerals all your life. There is some good evidence the amount of any one of them is dependent on such external factors as age, work, gender, diet, and other external factors. In the main, most people in the US get most of their needs. Notice I did not say all. If you suspect something is wrong and no one can determine the problem, discuss your ideas with your physician. That is what he is there for.
I have had simple partial seizures since 2001 (after a servere case of mono.) Lately, I have develped some kind of neuropathy. My blood work showed that my folic acid was 88 ng/mL.
Do you think this high level of folic acid might be affecting this recent on set of neuropathy?
Since it has been determined that Folic Acid deficiency produces neural defects in the fetus and the USDA levels for pregnant women are not appropriate, is there a study underway to determine the specific link between B12 and Folic Acid in pregnant women? It is known that elderly people tend to have a deficiency of B12 so a link with Folic Acid is a useful consideration for that age group but it may be a completely different story for young women.