Could someone just confirm

[sarahjaneR]

Although my doctor says my blood results are fine I've decided to take sublingual folic acid 400 ug per dose a day to see if this improves things. Could someone just confirm that this won't do any harm.

Thanks.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi sarahjaneR I have personally taken 1- 400ug tablet for more years than I can remember and I'm still "clivealive" and over 75.

However, as I'm not medically trained, if you are worried have a word with your pharmacist.

[sarahjaneR in reply to clivealive]

Thank you Clive. Just phoned my pharmacist, she said have a word with my doctor. lol

I know he will say I don't need any supplements, so I'm googling just to make sure it can't do any harm.

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to sarahjaneR]

You could always increase the amount of leafy green vegetables you eat as they are a natural source of Folate - sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, peas, beans etc.

I wish you well

[sarahjaneR in reply to clivealive]

Think that's the way I'll go Clive. When I was first diagnosed, the nurse who gave me the injections said that it wouldn't matter how much leafy veg i ate it wouldn't make a difference to my health because of the lack of intrinsic factor (think i've got that right) and I would not absorb any of the natural source. The more I read, the more I think she is wrong and that it only applies to animal , dairy, fish etc. Blimey this is complicated

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to sarahjaneR]

You get B12 from eating animal products and you need Intrinsic Factor to bind with the B12 for it to be able to travel through the digestive system to the Ileum and from there into the blood stream.

If you don't have any Intrinsic Factor you will not absorb the B12 from your food and you will need to have B12 injected directly into the blood stream thus bypassing the stomach.

It is important that your Folate level is monitored as this is essential to process the B12.

There is a complex interaction between folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron. A deficiency of one may be "masked" by excess of another so the three must always be in balance.

Symptoms of a folate deficiency can include:

symptoms related to anaemia

reduced sense of taste

diarrhoea

numbness and tingling in the feet and hands

muscle weakness

depression

Folic acid works closely with vitamin B12 in making red blood cells and helps iron function properly in the body

[sarahjaneR in reply to clivealive]

Thanks, made that easier to understand now. I don't have any of those symptoms, but I'll increase the green leafy veg rather than taking a supplement i think.

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to sarahjaneR]

Good thinking and try to stop worrying too much.

Take care now

[sarahjaneR in reply to clivealive]

thanks

[Hidden in reply to sarahjaneR]

I also worried about absorption of 'green leafy veg' as I got older. So I bought myself a blender that turns it to a smoothie (bananas (two's better), some milk, and bunch of leafs of the greenest organic veg I can find). I blend until pure smoothie - no bits of veg left. If I add some designer whey protein, that's a meal for me.

[GGourmet]

My only comment which I suspect is not relevant to you is an association with elevated risk of prostate cancer from regular folic acid supplements. I don’t think there is much research about this but maybe I am wrong.