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Folic Acid

Folic acid is a member of the “B” group of vitamins.

Folic acid is used in these conditions:

Acne:

Folic acid improves the condition of up to 87% of acne patients. In one human study 75% of patients receiving folic acid therapy for their acne experienced significant improvement and a further 12% of patients experienced some improvement.

Alcoholism:

Most alcoholics are found to be deficient in folic acid. Supplementing with folic acid helps to overcome this deficiency.

Alzheimer’s Disease:

Folic acid may help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease by lowering elevated homocysteine levels and by repairing the brain’s DNA.

Three human studies have demonstrated that low folic acid levels are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Autopsies of Alzheimer’s disease patients have demonstrated an association between low serum folic acid levels and the extent of degeneration of the brain.

A study on mice found that folic acid may help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease as folic acid deficiency was found to impair the repair of DNA in the neurons of the hippocampus and to increase the sensitivity of neurons in the hippocampus to the toxicity of amyloid-beta protein (a major factor in Alzheimer’s disease). The mechanism of action for folic acid’s protective effects against Alzheimer’s disease appears to involve its ability to lower homocysteine levels. Elevated homocysteine has been demonstrated to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Folic acid has been demonstrated to lower elevated homocysteine levels.

Folic acid facilitates the repair of DNA in the hippocampus (a region of the brain signficiantly affected by Alzheimer’s disease).

Angina:

Homocysteine is a toxic amino acid that, in higher than normal concentrations, is closely associated with angina. Folic acid has been proven to help to lower elevated homocysteine levels.

Anxiety:

Folic acid (especially when administered concurrently with vitamin B12) alleviates anxiety.

Cervical Dysplasia:

Folic acid deficiency increases the risk of cervical dysplasia. Women with cervical dysplasia have 40% lower red blood cell folic acid levels compared with normal, healthy women.

In a clinical study, folic acid (10 mg per day for three months) inhibited and reversed cervical dysplasia.

Crohn’s Disease:

Crohn's disease patients are often found to be deficient in folic acid and supplemental folic acid helps to restore the integrity of the intestines in Crohn’s disease patients.

Depression:

Many depression patients are found to have low levels of folic acid and supplemental folic acid is useful for the treatment of depression. In one clinical trial, alcoholics with major depression reported an improement in their mood with folic acid therapy.

Diarrhea:

High-dose supplemental folic acid helps to repair the damage to the intestines that occurs as a consequence of diarrhea. In one study, folic acid was found to reduce the duration of diarrhea caused by infection by 42%.

Energy:

Some cases of fatigue occur as a direct result of folic acid deficiency. Supplemental folic acid generally alleviates fatigue where the underlying cause of fatigue is folic acid deficiency.

Gingivitis

Several clinical studies have found that mouthwashes containing 0.1% folic acid swished around the mouth for one minute, twice per day, reduced the symptoms of gingivitis.

Other studies have found that oral folic acid supplementation may also reduce gingivitis symptoms and prevent gingivitis.

Gout:

Folic acid has been found to inhibit an enzyme named xanthine oxidase. This enzyme is responsible for the production of gout-causing uric acid. Adequate/optimal intake of folic acid may thereby help to prevent and treat gout.

Hair Health:

Folic acid supplements may delay the onset of grey hair and hair loss can also occur as a result of folic acid deficiency.

Although the evidence for supplemental folic acid restoring hair growth in healthy people is minimal, one study of cancer patients is noteworthy. Cancer patients often receive a chemotherapy drug called methotrexate. This drug prevents folic acid from converting to its natural metabolite, folinic acid. One of the most dreaded side-effects of methotrexate therapy is its guaranteed ability to cause total hair loss. When cancer patients receiving methotrexate were given 10 mg of the folinic acid form of folic acid per day, it prevented the hair loss associated with methotrexate therapy.

Heart Attack:

Folic acid helps to lower homocysteine (a major risk factor for heart attack) levels. By lowering homocysteine, folic acid helps to prevent heart attack.

Intermittent Claudication:

Most intermittent claudication patients have high levels of a toxic amino acid named homocysteine. Folic acid is well-proven to lower homocysteine levels and would therefore be expected to be useful for the treatment and prevention of intermittent claudication

Studies have shown that people with low folic acid levels have an increased risk of intermittent claudication and that intermittent claudication patients consume lower amounts of folic acid compared with normal, healthy persons.

Intestinal Parasites:

Folic acid is claimed to help to protect the body from the proliferation of intestinal parasites.

Joint Health:

Folic acid has been demonstrated in a clinical study to improve grip strength in osteoarthritis patients when it is used in conjunction with supplemental vitamin B12.

Male Infertility:

Infertile men have been found to have lower than normal folic acid levels.

A clinical trial found that 26 weeks supplementation with 5 mg of folic acid per day increased sperm count in infertile men.

Manic Depression:

Folic acid is the most common deficiency found in manic depression patients.

Clinical trials have found that supplemental folic acid improves the effectiveness of lithium for the treatment of manic depression.

Miscarriage:

Women who are deficient in folic acid have up to three times the risk of miscarriage compared with non-deficient women.

One of the causes of miscarriage is elevated levels of the toxic amino acid, homocysteine. Folic acid reduces homocysteine levels.

Mouth Ulcers:

Folic acid deficiency can be an underlying cause of mouth ulcers.

Osteoarthritis:

Folic acid has been demonstrated in a clinical trial to improve grip strength in osteoarthritis patients when it is used in conjunction with supplemental vitamin B12.

Osteoporosis:

Elevated levels of a toxic amino acid named homocysteine have recently been found to be associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis. Homocysteine interferes with optimal collagen cross-linking, resulting in impaired structure of the bone matrix. Folic acid helps to lower homocysteine levels.

Panic Disorder:

Folic acid (especially when administered concurrently with vitamin B12) helps to control panic disorder.

Parkinson’s Disease:

Elevated levels of the toxic amino acid homocysteine are thought to increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Folic acid is known to reduce homocysteine levels.

An animal study (using mice) found that folic acid deficiency (which results in higher homocysteine levels) increases the ability of environmental toxins to initiate Parkinson’s disease.

Pregnancy:

A woman’s daily requirement for folic acid doubles during pregnancy. Folic acid deficiency during pregnancy can cause a reduction in the birth weight of offspring and increases the risk of neural tube defects in offspring. Folic acid may also reduce the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women.

Psoriasis:

Some cases of psoriasis are believed to occur from folic acid deficiency. Psoriasis patients have a significantly greater daily requirement for folic acid compared to normal, healthy people.

Restless Legs Syndrome:

In some persons, restless legs syndrome is caused by a genetic disorder that causes them to have a very high requirement for folic acid. In this subset of restless legs syndrome patients, high-dose folic acid has been found to be beneficial.

Stroke:

Clinical studies have shown that people with high intake of folic acid have a 29% reduction in their risk of ischemic stroke compared to those with low intake.

One of the causative factors for ischemic stroke is high levels of the toxic amino acid metabolite, homocysteine. Folic acid effectively lowers homocysteine levels.

Ulcerative Colitis:

Ulcerative colitis have a high risk of developing colon cancer.

Folic acid has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of colon cancer in ulcerative colitis patients by approximately 28% in persons who have had ulcerative colitis for at least eight years.

Dosage:

The optimal daily allowance of folic acid is 500 - 2,000 mcg per day, however doses of up to 10,000 mcg (10 mg) are used for the treatment of some conditions.

References

Acne

· Callaghan, T. J. The effect of folic acid on seborrheic dermatitis. Cutis. 3:583-588, 1967.

Alcoholism

· Halsted, C. H., et al. Metabolic interactions of alcohol and folate. Journal of Nutrition. 132(8):2367S-2372S, 2002.

Alzheimer’s Disease

· Snowdon, D. A., et al. Serum folate and the severity of atrophy of the neocortex in Alzheimer disease: findings from the Nun Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 71(4):993-998, 2000.

Angina

· Brouwer, I. A., et al. Low-dose folic acid supplementation decreases plasma homocysteine concentrations: a randomized trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 69(1):99-104, 1999.

Cervical Dysplasia

· Butterworth, C., et al. Improvement in cervical dysplasia associated with folic acid therapy in users of oral contraceptives. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 35:73-82, 1982.

Crohn’s Disease

· Lassos, A., et al. Peripheral neuropathy and folate deficiency as the first sign of Crohn's disease. J Clin Gastroenterol. 13(4):442-444, 1991.

Depression

· Alpert, J. E., et al. Nutrition and depression: the role of folate. Nutrition Reviews. 55(5):145-149, 1997.

Diarrhea

· Haffejee, I. E. Effect of oral folate on duration of acute infantile diarrhoea [letter]. Lancet. ii:334–35, 1988.

Energy

· Botez, M. I., et al. Neuropsychological correlates of folic acid deficiency: facts and hypotheses. In: Botez, M. I., Reynolds, E. H., editors. Folic Acid in Neurology, Psychiatry, and Internal Medicine. Raven Press, New York, USA. 1979:435-461.

Gingivitis

· Vogel, R. I.; et al. The effect of folic acid on gingival health. J Periodontol. 47(11):667-668, 1976.

Gout

· Flouvier, B., et al. Folic acid, xanthine oxidase, and uric acid. Ann Intern Med. 88(2):269, 1978.

Hair Health

· Mervyn, L. Thorsons Complete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals (2nd Edition). Thorsons Publishing Group, Wellingborough, England. 1989:23.

Heart Attack

Hernandez-Diaz, S., et al. Dietary folate and the risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction. Epidemiology. 13(6):700-706, 2002.

Intermittent Claudication

Wilmink, A. B., et al. Dietary folate and vitamin B6 are independent predictors of peripheral arterial occlusive disease. J Vasc Surg. 39(3):513-516, 2004.

Joint Health

Flynn, M., et al. The effect of folate and cobalamin on osteoarthritic hands. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 13(4):351-356, 1994.

Male Infertility

· Wallock, L. M., et al. Low seminal plasma folate concentrations are associated with low sperm density and count in male smokers and nonsmokers. Fertil Steril. 75(2):252-9, 2001.

Manic Depression

· Hasanah, C. I., et al. Reduced red-cell folate in mania. Journal of Affective Disorders. 46:95-99, 1997.

Miscarriage

· George, L., et al. Plasma folate levels and risk of spontaneous abortion. JAMA. 288(15):1867-1873, 2002.

Mouth Ulcers

· Dawson, T. A. Folic acid may be beneficial in aphthous stomatitis. British Medical Journal. 315(7116):1162, 1997.

Osteoarthritis

Flynn, M., et al. The effect of folate and cobalamin on osteoarthritic hands. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 13(4):351-356, 1994.

Osteoporosis

· Crayhon, R. The clinical applications of folic acid. Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association. 4(1):21, 2001.

Parkinson’s Disease

· Duan, W., et al. Dietary folate deficiency and elevated homocysteine levels endanger dopaminergic neurons in models of Parkinson's disease. J Neurochem. 80(1):101-110, 2002.

Pregnancy

· Scholl, T. O., et al. Folic acid: influence on the outcome of pregnancy. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 71(5 Supplement):1295S-1303S, 2000.

Psoriasis

· Fry, L., et al. The mechanism of folate deficiency in psoriasis. British Journal of Dermatology. 84(6):539-544, 1971.

Restless Legs Syndrome

· Boutez, MI et al. Neurologic disorders responsive to folic acid therapy. Can Med Assoc J. 115(3):217-223, 1976.

Stroke

· Gottlieb, S. More evidence that folic acid reduces risk of ischaemic stroke. British Medical Journal. 328(7434):247, 2004.

Ulcerative Colitis

Lashner, B. A., et al. The effect of folic acid supplementation on the risk for cancer or dysplasia in ulcerative colitis. Gastroenterology. 112:29-32, 1997.

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