Folate, Folic Acid and Homocysteine

[Searcher56]

I had a homocysteine test done privately, it is quite high at 15, normal range is below 10. I have been taking Vit B complex for years, but the doctor described me Methyl B Complex with Methylfolate by Biocare. I enquired about the difference between folate and folic acid on the Internet and also on the Biocare helpline. It appears that some people have a genetic disposition that requires them to have methylfolate rather than folic acid. Folate is naturally in foods, folic acid is synthetized. Vitamin pills usually have folic acid in them and in all these years of taking pills my body may not have been able to metabolise folic acid. No wonder doctors recommend getting your vitamins from food. A lot of vitamins are synthetized, like ascorbic acid, it is not quite the same as Vitamin C. I am now thinking as an experiment to stop taking any vitamin pills for a while and see what happens. Anyone else out there with new intelligence on vitamins and supplements? I also take food supplements in natural form.

Searcher56

[fee13]

Hi, many vitamins and minerals bought at supermarkets etc are cheap synthetics which the body does not recognise as a food source and therefore will not absorb. Also many need other components added to help with absorption I.e., curcumin needs piperine (black pepper) or Phosphatidyl Choline (sunflower lecithin) for absorption. The form you take also needs to be bioavailable for the body. A lot of "food base" supplements that say 1 a day will not give you recommended amounts and are false advertising, you usually need 3 or 4 tablets.

I have searched for reputable nutritionist's or similar and researched their beliefs through google search, even science papers when available, to see what the general consensus is. The information can be daunting but very interesting. Best of luck 🙂