Numerous benefits linked to folate: It reduces your risk of everything from stroke to heart disease

Is folate the new 'it' vitamin? 
 
Suddenly, the summer of 2007 seems like the summer of folate, with multiple studies springing up left and right. 
 
There's no mystery as to why folate is getting this sort of attention. Along with other vitamins in the B group (most notably B-6 and B-12) folate has been shown to reduce levels of homocysteine, the amino acid that promotes plaque buildup in arteries. The result: Folate has earned a reputation for helping keep the heart healthy while also reducing risk of stroke and cognitive decline. 
 
In the recent e-Alert I sent you about antidepressant drugs, I noted that research shows that some people who are depressed may metabolize folate inefficiently. Another recent folate study reveals a promising technique that may quickly raise folate levels by making the vitamin more bioavailable. 

Boosting the booster  
 
Last year, research from the University of Bonn showed that a specific derivative of folic acid (the synthetic supplement form of folate) is more bioavailable than a standard folic acid supplement. The derivative is known as [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid, which is marketed under the brand name Metafolin. 
 
More recently, researchers at Belgium's Katholieke Universiteit Leuven examined the effects of vitamin C supplementation on Metafolin bioavailability. Researchers recruited nine healthy men with high folate levels who underwent four separate interventions: 
 
1) Metafolin 
2) Metafolin with 289.4 mg of vitamin C 
3) Metafolin with 973.8 mg of vitamin C 
4) Placebo 
 
Each of the Metafolin interventions used 343 mcg of the supplement daily. Researchers measured blood folate concentrations for up to eight hours after each intervention. Results showed that Metafolin alone significantly raised folate levels for four hours. But when vitamin C was added, these levels stayed elevated for six hours. Each of the two vitamin C doses produced about the same effect. 
 
The University of Sheffield in the UK is currently conducting a study that will compare folate levels in subjects receiving a folate-rich diet, folic acid supplements, or Metafolin supplements. Results will be reported next year.  
 
The good with the bad  
 
In other folate news 
 
The link between high folate levels and reduced stroke risk is confirmed in a study from Chicago's Children's Memorial Research Center. Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of eight trials in which folic acid supplements were tested. Results showed that subjects with no history of stroke who took folic acid supplements reduced their stroke risk by 25 percent. In addition, when folic acid was taken for more than three years, reduction of risk was 30 percent. 
 
And as you might suspect, there's also a recent junk study to report on. 
 
Previous research has shown that folic acid supplementation my reduce colon cancer risk. But a new study shows that folic acid may INCREASE the risk of colon cancer. I'm telling you about this in case you came across one of the reports that had a headline like this one: 'Folic Acid may Promote Colon Cancer.' 
 
Nowwhy is this junk? Two reasons: 1) This supposed folic acid effect was only seen in subjects who had already been diagnosed with the type of benign tumours that are precursors to colorectal cancers, and 2) The lead author of the study admitted to Ivanhoe Newswire that he and his research team couldn't be sure which patients might have started the study with microscopic lesions. Nevertheless, he called the possibility that folic acid prompted colon cancer 'a very viable hypothesis.' 
 
Maybe in the research world 'very viable' means 'really not viable at all.' 
 
The best dietary sources of folate include spinach and other dark green vegetables, citrus fruits, broccoli, wheat germ, brewers yeast, lima beans, cantaloupe, watermelon, brown rice, peas, sprouts, poultry, shellfish, pork, and liver from organically raised animals. Talk to your doctor before taking folate or Metafolin supplements.