Folic Acid Awareness Week 2015: Want Awareness? Here You Go

[greygoose]

mthfr.net/folic-acid-awaren...

'Folic acid is old hat, out-dated, worn out and needs to go away. And now.'

[rebekah40]

Thank you for this...I've only skim read it but will look at it properly later. With a teenage son who has low folate this looks like an interesting read. I've been trying to research the best way to get his levels up apart from food which is just not working. At the time when I was pregnant folic acid was being spoken about all the time and like many pregnant women I took it. They never spoke about other more natural ways of supplementing or the dangers of it being synthetic.

[greygoose in reply to rebekah40]

Don't suppose they even knew then. Folate wasn't even mentioned when I had my youngest 40 years ago. They just gave me iron tablets without even testing my iron! Things have improved, but not enough. We have to keep pushing if we want to get out of the Middle Ages and into the... 19th century would be nice.

[rebekah40 in reply to greygoose]

Crikey it's crazy isn't it? Back when I was pregnant and didn't know as much as I do now I was told my iron was low, they didn't give me anything just told me to eat a bowl of Rice Crispies! I realise now that my serum iron is still low! The 19th century would be something! It's good that we are now part of the information age where articles such as the one you have given are available so that we know so much more and can arm ourselves and then make more informed decisions about our health.

[greygoose in reply to rebekah40]

I think the internet must have saved an awful lot of lives!

[shaws Administrator in reply to greygoose]

The link was a surprise but I then noticed it referred to 'synthetic' folic acid. Maybe 'synthetic' anything, i.e. levo, lio, when synthetic don't suit our bodies so well would be better avoided by some and doctors allowed to prescribe NDT.

[humanbean in reply to shaws]

I think folic acid is always synthetic. It is not a substance found in nature, it is manufactured.

[shaws Administrator in reply to humanbean]

This is what I read and you are correct Folic Acid is manmade and folate is in natural products :

Extract

Folate from natural food sources is best

Despite the risks associated with high levels of folic acid intake, it is well established that adequate folate intake from the consumption of folate-rich foods is essential for health. Folate aids the complete development of red blood cells, reduces levels of homocysteine in the blood, and supports nervous system function. It is well known for its role in preventing neural tube defects in newborns, so women of childbearing age must be sure to have an adequate intake prior to and during pregnancy.

chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...

[sue11 in reply to shaws]

Could you sent the web to me as this book advert keeps popping up,stopping me reading the rest

[shaws Administrator in reply to sue11]

I can access it with no problem. I think if you sign in with your email address it will recognise you and you get regular good info.

chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...

[sue11 in reply to shaws]

Thank you shared for advice x

[sue11 in reply to sue11]

Sorry kindle.....shaws

[greygoose in reply to sue11]

sue, when the book advert pops up, just click on white background of the article outside the coloured ad area, and the ad will disappear.

[sue11 in reply to greygoose]

Thank you grey goose,as always so kind a helpful x

[greygoose in reply to sue11]

You're welcome.

[greygoose in reply to shaws]

Exactly, Shaws, that's the whole point of the article. Don't take synthetic Folic Acid, take the more natural methylfolate.

[gabkad in reply to greygoose]

Can't a person get enough folate from eating a several servings of fresh vegetables, mushrooms, asparagus, etc.? If I look up in the nutrition tables, I can see how much it takes to get 400 mcg per day.

Even if let's say, a person decides to go bonkers and literally eat nothing but lots of fresh steamed vegetables a couple of days per week, would that work?

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to gabkad]

Sounds very like my diet - you get a folate level above the reference range with low ferritin and (possibly) low B12.

[greygoose in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

And, of course, it dépends on your ability to absorb the nutrients from the food you eat. All these dietry recommendations about how much to eat of this and that to get this or that nutrient, are not addressed at hypos. We're different! lol

[gabkad in reply to greygoose]

I'm fortunate that it appears I have good absorption because I come by excellent B12 and ferritin from diet only. No junkfood and no sugar or wheat. Back in the dark ages I took a nutrition course at university so that helped because as part of the program we had to do diet analysis. But there's so much new information (like in those days there was no vitamin K2) that it's been a steep learning curve over the past few years. We never had emphasis (that I can recall) on magnesium or potassium in the diet. It was mostly vitamins and macronutrients and total calories. Of course, in those days, the importance of good levels of vitamin D3 were in the future. That was in the 70s when low fat was in vogue. LOL! The guys in the class got the furry eyeball treatment from the instructor for their pizza and beer diet.

[gabkad in reply to greygoose]

One of my friends has younger children (12 and 14). The 'nutrition and health' being sort of pushed on the kids is vegan diet. Her son realized that this is the underlying message although not overt in your face. Food has become too politicized.

[Barb1949]

Back in the ' good old days ' (1969) when I was pregnant with my eldest son I was told I was anaemic and as I couldn't tolerate Iron tablets was told to drink half a pint of Stout every day! I still don't know what causes it but I spent months in hospital with pre--eclampsia (not called that then). My son was born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. A couple of years after I was told by my doctor that it would not have happened if they had known about folic acid. I went on to have three more pregnancies with no problems and I didn't take folic acid before or during any of them. Oh, and I didn't drink stout either, just ate iron rich foods.

[Lindsay]

I am taking folic acid every day as my husband and I are trying for a baby. Knowing this now I don't know if I should continue or not? Are the risks higher if I stop taking it? :s

[humanbean in reply to Lindsay]

Take methylfolate instead, perhaps? I know Jarrow does one that gets good reviews on Amazon.

[Heloise in reply to Lindsay]

Spina Bifida and pilonidal cysts were known to be caused by lack of folic acid. I took my mother off of it when I read that more than 400 mg. daily could be toxic. She had some sort of dementia and I guess we'll never know if it contributed to that but her doctor had told her to take 500 mg. indefinitely.

[greygoose in reply to Heloise]

Pfft. Such ignorance, it's criminal!

[Heloise in reply to greygoose]

We'll probably never know exactly how criminal......

[Heloise in reply to Lindsay]

I forgot to add that when they discovered the problem, they began fortifying bread with folic acid in the states anyway. We may all be getting folic acid whether we know it or not.

[greygoose in reply to Heloise]

Well, i'm pretty sure they don't do that in France. Food is sacred here, especially the bread! Mind you, if you go for sliced bread (cotton wool?) you could get anything, although everything is labled here, just have to translate the E numbers! lol

[Heloise in reply to greygoose]

By E numbers...is that a way to disguise ingredients?

In the U.S. I'm sure they are going to change descriptions on labels...like how many different names for monosodium glutamate?

There are probably a few for high fructose corn syrup.....GMO's....and on and on, to see how many they can fool.

[greygoose in reply to Heloise]

Yes, you're right. I saw an article today about all the new names they've invented for HFC, but now I can't find it! The E numbers you can find on internet, but as I rarely buy anything that contains them, I haven't bothered. Thank goodness for the good old French boulangerie! No messing about there, just good, honest bread!

[Heloise in reply to greygoose]

Viva la French bread!

[greygoose in reply to Heloise]

Vive la France!