In the current edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers from Finland conducted a prospective population-based study involving over a thousand men between the ages of 46 and 64. None of these men entering the study were known to have cardiovascular disease. The men were followed for an average of 7.7 years. At the end of the study, it was found that those individuals who had the highest serum folate levels had a reduced incidence of acute coronary events of a whopping 65% compared to those men with the lowest folic acid serum levels. Interestingly, there did not seem to be any real correlation between serum Homocysteine levels and risk of acute coronary events. The researchers concluded that the data suggested that moderate to high serum folic concentrations were associated with a greatly reduced incidence of acute coronary events.

The benefits of folic acid certainly do not stop with heart disease. In a landmark study published in the prestigious journal Annals of Internal Medicine back in 1998, 88,000 women participating in the Nurses Health Study who were free of cancer in 1980 were followed for approximately fifteen years. It was found that those women who took supplemental folic acid, at least 400 mcg a day, had an incredible reduction in colon cancer of 75% after fifteen years. Interestingly, the study found that women who used multi-vitamins containing folic acid had no appreciable benefit in reduction of colon cancer after four years. Over the next ten years that these women were studied, there was a modest reduction in colon cancer by about 20%, but the significant risk reduction did not occur until after fifteen years of being on this particular nutrient.

This study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine is certainly not isolated in regard to cancer. In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition from April 2004, over 1,000 men and women between the ages of 40 and 80 with a history of colon rectal polyps were studied. It was found that there was a clear reduction in recurrent colon rectal adenomas (leading to colon cancer) in subjects with the highest levels of plasma folate. The prestigious Journal of the National Cancer Institute from March of this year indicated that there was mounting evidence that a high dietary folic intake may play a role in reducing the risk of ovarian cancer, especially among women who consume alcohol. There have been other studies in the medical literature showing folic acid intake with reduction in oral and pharyngeal cancer, lung cancer and other malignant tumours.

Although folic acid is considered extremely safe, I do not advocate my readers taking large quantities of folic acid without adequate B12. There have been reported cases in the medical literature indicating that high intake of folic acid can mask a B12 deficiency. Therefore, whenever taking higher doses of folic acid, it is important to take adequate B12 along with it. For those of you who are regular users of the Power Juice, Active Life,  HomoCysteine Control Spray and other products from Good Health Naturally (GHN), I must tell you that you are on the cutting edge of science. The products just mentioned contain far higher amounts of folic acid when compared to other multi-vitamins available on the market. The typical GHN product contains anywhere from 400 mcg (0.8 mg) to 800 mcg of folic acid as a daily dose. Again, the importance of not taking folic acid alone is stressed. All the GHN products mentioned also contain excellent doses (many times the RDA/DV) of the most effective, bioavailable and active form of B12 (16,000 higher), known as methylcobalamin. In fact, this form of B12 has been shown to achieve blood levels similar to injections and provides far more health benefits, including enhanced sleep and nervous system function. GHN also offers an excellent the HomoCysteine Control Spray B Complex that is superior to others. If you are taking a multi-vitamin I can almost guarantee that it does not absorb the amount of B12 and folic acid contained in these products. You may ask why? The answer is simple, sublingual, always absorb whatever the age and state of the digestive system. Tablets at best only absorb a maximum of 10%.  The worst offenders are the mass-market vitamins sold at discount stores and even at health food stores. Many of these inferior products are even produced by large pharmaceutical companies, which I find rather pathetic. Read your labels carefully -- do not trust fancy advertising claiming products are complete! Look at the forms and levels of ingredients and do not short-change your health and sell out to the lowest bidder. The best value is not usually the lowest price.

For other relative health news articles please click here