Folate, homocysteine and cancer... how much folate do we need??

[dadcor]

If you are concerned about getting too much folic acid, keep the multivitamin, but skip the energy bars, cold breakfast cereals, and other processed foods that are heavily fortified with folic acid....

hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...

[park_bear]

The referenced article links to another article, that contains the single unsupported statement: " Some breakfast cereals, nutrition bars, and other fortified foods deliver up to 800 micrograms of folic acid, and that’s about double the recommended daily dose." Nothing like that in my lair. It did have this handy table:

hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...

Food Micrograms

Lentils,½ cup cooked 180

Spinach,½ cup cooked 132

Black beans, ½ cup cooked 128

Sunflower seeds, 1½ ounces 101

Turnip greens, ½ cup cooked 85

Broccoli,½ cup cooked 84

Orange juice, 1 cup fresh squeezed 74

Peanuts,1½ ounces 62

-which tells me I am getting adequate folate from diet.

[dadcor in reply to park_bear]

So folate is dangerous, B6 is not recommended due to Ldopa..., than what remains as the main weapon against homocysteine?? How about if Folic acid may alternatively be administered as 5-methyltetrahydrofolate....

[park_bear in reply to dadcor]

B6 is an absolute necessity. Just take it at least 2 hours apart from your levodopa. See discussion here: healthunlocked.com/parkinso...

[dadcor in reply to park_bear]

Thanks, actually I did see this discussion and have it in mind, but my question is a bit different..

[park_bear in reply to dadcor]

Although the studies indeed used folic acid as a supplement, it is not safe to think other forms of folate avoid the problem. From one of the studies I cited:

"[T]he pivotal role of folate in nucleotide synthesis, including its role as a cofactor in a rate-limiting step for DNA synthesis, also makes it a potential growth factor for neoplastic cells. The potential for folate to serve as a growth factor for neoplastic cells is further amplified by the tendency of most cancer cells to up-regulate the membrane receptors that mediate their uptake of folate, as well as some of the critical folate-dependent enzymes necessary for DNA synthesis. "