Folate

[catherinejordan]

When I was first diagnosed going on 2y ago now my doctor was surprised my foliate was normal and not low. . He said if one is low usually they both are so I've never supplimented foliate and it's remained normal.

Has anyone else been told this?

[Gambit62 Administrator]

on one level I would expect both to be low if stomach acidity is involved in causing the B12 deficiency as absorbing nutrients from food generally is going to be a problem. However, think it is far from true that the two have to go together - unlikely to be the case in the US where there is a tendency to fortify food with folic acid.

One of the talks at this years PAS conference was from the chap that runs the test lab at St Thomas's - and he was saying that homocysteine probably isn't a good test to use as a B12 diagnostic input in the UK because homocysteine is raised by folate deficiency and it's quite common for B12 and folate to both be low in the UK - more useful in the US where folate deficiency is less of an issue due to fortification.

[LynneG in reply to Gambit62]

So, the best way to reduce homocysteine then is to have lots of natural folate from fruit and veg. I just want to reduce homocysteine re brain health/alzheimers risk. Food for the brain site advise homocysteine should be 7 but list supplements to take - I would rather get from food. Mainly because I have the cost of other supplements

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to LynneG]

best source of folate is definitely food - so look for folate rich foods - broccoli and spinach spring to mind (though if you are also looking at iron broccoli is better than spinach) ... sure there are lots of other fruit and veg you can enjoy tucking in to.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi catherinejordan I'm not medically qualified but perhaps it's a case that you "eat all your greens" as my mother used to shout at me across the dinner table when I was a boy.

I eat "All Bran" and "Grape Nuts" for breakfast, both of which are "fortified" with folic acid and I've no doubt many other cereals are the same so perhaps that's why your level is "normal"?

In addition I note that my daily "Over 70 Multivitamin" tablet also contains folic acid so if ever I want to get pregnant I (and the baby) should be OK

[topazrat]

My doctor was surprised because my folate was high too. Made her scratch her head a bit. I do take a daily multivitamin that has 200iu in it, so maybe that was why - who knows. My batty brain likes to think that maybe because I had little B12 for it to eat, it was just sitting there waiting for it's chance to shine, but there again, maybe not

[catherinejordan]

I don't take a multivitamin at all but hey ho the medical world fascinates me.

Thankyou for the replys and afvice

[LynneG]

Hi, new on here. So just having a look as was referred from the thyroid posts. I just thought I would post because I worried about seeing Folic Acid mentioned. Have you seen Functional Clinician Chris Kressers article on Folate versus Folic Acid and the difference. His articles always post reference links to research studies. Natural folate from plants extremely beneficial, the artificial/synthetic folic acid which is found in vitamin supplements and added to food is harmful and most probably causes cancer. Some propose the way it is added to food products could very well be a reason for increased rates in cancer. Please google Chris Kresser's article

[Marymary7 in reply to LynneG]

I agree LynneG . I read that site too. It's lucky for us all we have the net to read up on all this stuff.

M😀

[LynneG]

Please could you tell me what the ideal level of folate is? I don't seem to be able to find out. The lab range is 4.6 - 18.7. I presumed it was better to be up high with folate? Mine is 10.7 so I thought I had better make some more smoothies.

[srmika]

For what it's worth (and I'm certainly no doctor), I saw a natural healing doctor who said my folate was high, while my other numbers were low. He said it's possible I may have a mutation in the MTHFR gene, which makes it difficult to process folate. Although one would think that would make my folate levels low, he said it's high because it's building up in my liver and not being processed. (Apologies - I may not be getting some of these details exactly correct -- science isn't my strong suit).

He recommended I get tested for the gene, but also gave me "Methyl Assist," which contains L-5-MTHF, an already processed form of folate (I think -- again, I'm bad at the technical stuff; I'm sure someone can correct any inaccuracies). He also recommended I take a food-based iron supplement.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

[LynneG in reply to srmika]

Hi Srmika, Thanks for posting. It is great that we can share information. May I ask you what your folate level was which the natural healing doctor thought was too high?

I don't know much about the methyl pathway but would have thought like you. But obviously there is a difference between digesting/absorption of the folate and processing. And possibly leading to folate hanging around in the blood.

Don't know if it is correct but I had heard that B12 and folate have to balance in the blood. So if your folate is high in the blood or just out of balance with B12 it will draw B12 out of the cells into the blood to try to create the balance with folate. And that is why blood testing of B12 will not give a true picture of B12. As I mentioned, I have no knowledge base to confirm but will have read about it when looking into the inadequacy of serum B12 tests.

I do know that Dr Ben Lynch is an expert on the Methyl Pathway and the MTHFR genetic issues. Has a web site /and you can register I think for regular update info emails/ has a protocol to support/ and has given lots of interviews on Functional Medicine podcasts/summits. There are lots of you tube videos to watch.

[srmika in reply to LynneG]

This is awesome info! Thank you!! My folic acid serum test result was 19.2, with 20 being the top of the normal range. Although it wasn't terribly high, I think he thought it was high compared to my Ferratin number - 22.9 (top end of normal being 137).

What you said about high folate drawing out B12 to balance makes so much sense to me, as I always just feel like I "run out" of B12 really quickly. If you get any other info, I'd love to hear it!

[LynneG in reply to srmika]

Thanks to you too. Please check out Dr Ben Lynch's work, you tube videos. i haven't heard him for some time, so will re check too when I have time. But he is bound to throw some light on and further info

[srmika in reply to LynneG]

Will do. Thank you!