Nutraceuticals and nootropics for anti-aging

Folic Acid — more benefits and more foot-dragging

The use of folic acid supplements by pregnant women to reduce the risk of neural defects in their newborns is now well established. Now a Canadian research team has found evidence that these supplements can also prevent neuroblastoma — an often fatal childhood cancer of the nervous system.

Link to the news story:

Nutrient linked to risk of childhood tumours

---

Another important development regarding folic acid is a study carried out by Dr. David Wald, a British cardiologist. Wald says his study shows that people should be taking 800 mcg/day of folic acid in order to reduce their bodies’ homocysteine production. High homocysteine levels have been shown to be positively correlated with risk of heart attacks and strokes. Wald’s results are being discounted by the American Heart Association and its British counterpart, both of which contend that the cause-and-effect relationship between homocysteine and heart risk has not been proven. These organizations (which, by the way, have a long-standing reputation as "johnny-come-latelies") therefore refuse to endorse the idea that people should take folic acid as insurance against heart problems.

Links to the news story:

HealthScoutNews article

BBC news article

Ananova article

Novartis Foundation for Gerontology article

---

I include one final link to an article which contains the absurd suggestion that people should rely only on food to get their folic acid — a sure-fire method for remaining ignorant about how much of this substance one is actually consuming:

Health Newswire article