Folic Acid News and Research

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Folic acid is a B vitamin. It helps the body make healthy new cells. Everyone needs folic acid. For women who may get pregnant, it is really important. When a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and during pregnancy, it can prevent major birth defects of her baby's brain or spine.

Foods with folic acid in them include leafy green vegetables, fruits, dried beans, peas and nuts. Enriched breads, cereals and other grain products also contain folic acid. If you don't get enough folic acid from the foods you eat, you can also take it as a dietary supplement.

Scientists challenge the underlying scientific premise behind folic acid fortification

Scientists at the Institute of Food Research have highlighted possible consequences of fortifying flour with folic acid due to new evidence of how it is absorbed by the body.

5 Nov 2007

Food fortification with folic acid linked to increased cancer rate

Two recent commentaries appearing in the November issue of Nutrition Reviews find that the introduction of flour fortified with folic acid into common foods was followed by an increase in colon cancer diagnoses in the U.S. and Canada.

5 Nov 2007

Supplements do not reduce cancer risk

Most experts agree that supplements add little, if anything, to a well-balanced diet.

2 Nov 2007

Condiments can enhance nutritional value of routine food

With the right choice of condiments, seasonings or sauces, ordinary food can go from "blah" to "ahh" - with a boost in nutritional value.

18 Oct 2007

Nanorods of gold blast tumor cells

Researchers have shown how tiny "nanorods" of gold can be triggered by a laser beam to blast holes in the membranes of tumor cells, setting in motion a complex biochemical mechanism that leads to a tumor cell's self-destruction.

17 Oct 2007

Homocysteine appears to be play a part in retinal damage and vision loss

Homocysteine, an amino acid believed to contribute to heart attack, stroke and dementia, likely also is a player in retinal damage and vision loss, researchers say.

16 Oct 2007

Folic acid supplements dramatically lower blood arsenic levels in those exposed to contaminated water

A new study conducted in Bangladesh finds that folic acid supplements can dramatically lower blood arsenic levels in individuals chronically exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water.

10 Oct 2007

Folic acid supplements can dramatically lower blood arsenic levels

A new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health finds that folic acid supplements can dramatically lower blood arsenic levels in individuals exposed to arsenic through contaminated drinking water.

9 Oct 2007

Infant mortality rates decline in New York City

New York City's infant mortality rate - widely regarded as a barometer of a population's general health - fell slightly in 2006, the Health Department reported today.

4 Oct 2007

Folic acid helps prevent facial cleft

A new study finds that women who take folic acid supplements early in their pregnancy can substantially reduce their baby's chances of being born with a facial cleft.

5 Sep 2007

Folic acid protects againts exposure to bisphenol A in the womb

Experiments in animals have provided additional and tantalizing evidence that what a pregnant mother eats can make her offspring more susceptible to disease later in life.

1 Aug 2007

Study shows that folic acid added to flours lowers incidence of congenital neural tube deformation

Dr. Philippe De Wals of Universit' Laval's Department of Social and Preventive Medicine today publishes a study clearly indicating that the addition of folic acid to flours has led to a 46% drop in the incidence of congenital neural tube deformation (mainly anencephaly and spina bifida) in Canada. Such deformations either result in the child's death or in major health problems, including physical and learning disabilities.

13 Jul 2007

Debate on folic acid fortification

Since the institution of nationwide folic acid fortification of enriched grains in the mid 1990s, the number of infants born in the United States and Canada with neural tube defects has declined by 20 percent to 50 percent.

10 Jul 2007

Link between depression and low levels of folate

In research published in the July edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the York team led by Dr Simon Gilbody, concluded that there was a link between depression and low folate levels, following a review of 11 previous studies involving 15,315 participants.

27 Jun 2007

Multifunctional nanoparticle platforms for targeting and imaging cancer cells

There has been much recent interest in how nanotechnology will impact the field of medicine. Unfortunately, a number of promising nanostructured systems have turned out to be extremely toxic to humans, thus precluding their use in clinical applications and dashing hopes of an early success for the interdisciplinary field of nanobiotechnology.

21 Jun 2007