High Folate Intake Can Help Ward Off Ovarian Cancer

Three years ago a friend of mine named Rebecca was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pains. She was shocked to find out that what was at first suspected to be appendicitis turned out to be ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, this is not unusual with this disease, which is often well advanced before any symptoms arise.

I'm glad to report that Rebecca is doing pretty well today, but I wish I could turn back the clock a few years to share with her the results of a new study that shows how the intake of one important nutrient might significantly reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.

Vitamin B... with a chaser

In previous e-Alerts I've told you about the many benefits of a diet rich in the B vitamin folate. In addition to lowering homocysteine levels and reducing the risk of stroke, folate may also help prevent breast and colorectal cancer. Knowing that this water-soluble vitamin could be a key to the prevention of some cancers, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, designed a study to examine how folate intake might be associated with ovarian cancer.

Using records from the Swedish Mammography Cohort, researchers examined data on a group of more than 61,000 women ranging in age from 38 to 76 years old. None of the women were diagnosed with cancer at the outset of the study. On average, the dietary and medical records of the women were followed for about 15 years.

The researchers found that when the women with the highest folate intake were compared to the women with the lowest intake, those in the higher group had a slightly reduced risk of developing ovarian cancer. More striking, however, was the fact that women who had folate-rich diets and who also drank at least two or more alcoholic beverages each week were 74 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer.

Obviously, two drinks a week is a fairly moderate intake of alcohol. But this is one of those cases where more is not better, because excessive alcohol consumption can create a folate deficiency. Other factors that can lead to low folate levels include: smoking, oral contraceptives, high intake of aspirin, general malnourishment, and certain drugs such as the chemotherapy drug methotrexate.

Feasting on folate

The Karolinska Institute researchers noted that their findings were based on dietary questionnaires, so further studies would be required to determine if supplements of folate might be just as effective as dietary sources of the vitamin.

But fortunately, dietary sources of folate are easy to come by. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables, avocados, bananas, asparagus, whole grains, and pinto, navy and kidney beans are all good sources of folate.

Supplements of folate are available as natural (folate) or synthetic (folic acid). The daily recommended intake (DRI) of folate is 400 micrograms, but for those trying to lower homocysteine levels, at least twice that amount is necessary. Pregnant or nursing women are also urged to take a folate supplement of 400 mcg per day to prevent a deficiency of the vitamin. In the Karolinska Institute study, those in the higher-intake group were getting a minimum of about 200 mcg per day.

The B chain

Some additional details need to be considered when taking folate supplements. You should be aware that a high intake of folate can mask a vitamin B-12 deficiency in older people. However, a vitamin B-12 deficiency can be easily avoided by eating meat, fish and eggs, or by taking B-12 supplements.

US HSI Panellist Dr Allan Spreen, recommends folate supplements of 1.6 mg (1600 mcg) per day, and as much as 5 mg for those who want to address cardiovascular problems. Dr. Spreen points out that, 'Folate isn't effective in low doses except in a limited percentage of cases.' And to avoid a deficiency of B-12, he recommends 1mg (1000 mcg) per day in sublingual form (dissolved under the tongue).

In addition, Dr. Spreen also suggests that to get the most out of folate, 100 mg per day of B-6 is also necessary, as well as 400-500 mg of magnesium per day (to make the B-6 more effective). If you take a good quality multivitamin, you're probably already getting a good foundation of these nutrients. But when addressing specific health concerns, Dr. Spreen recommends that you beef up the B vitamins and folate to reach these totals.

Eat, drink, enjoy

Population-based studies like the research from the Karolinska Institute are useful in giving an indication about the ways that dietary factors influence our health.

But further studies in which folate foods or supplements are administered and controlled will be necessary to determine if folate - plus a couple of glasses of wine per week - really do have a preventive effect against ovarian cancer.

In the meantime, a spinach and avocado salad with an occasional glass of cabernet can't do any harm, and just might do quite a bit of good.