Folic acid can reduce heart attack risk
AFTER analysing evidence from earlier studies, a team of scientists in Britain recently said there is enough research that shows folic acid lowers the levels of amino acid hornocysteine and reduces the odds of cardiovacular disease.
AFTER analysing evidence from earlier studies, a team of scientists in Britain recently said there is enough research that shows folic acid lowers the levels of amino acid hornocysteine and reduces the odds of cardiovacular disease.
“The evidence is very persuasive that lowering honiocysteine with folic acid will reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke by about 10-20%,†David Wald of the Wolfson Institute for Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry said.
Folic acid is a synthetic compound of folate, a B vitamin found in vegetables and liver. Women are advised to take folic acid before conceiving and during the early months of pregnancy to prevent neural tube disorders. Homocysteine is thought to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by damaging the inner lining of arteries.
Wald and his team analysed results of large cohort trials looking at homosysteine and heart attacks in mainly healthy people and others that tested the effects of lowering levels of the amino acid. They also examined studies of people with a genetic mutation, which occurs in one in 10 people that increases their homocysteine level and the impact of folic acid in reducing it.
“The evidence shows that people who have the genetic defect, with higher homocysteine levels are at a high risk,†said Wald.
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide.
Reuters
“The evidence is very persuasive that lowering honiocysteine with folic acid will reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke by about 10-20%,†David Wald of the Wolfson Institute for Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry said.
Folic acid is a synthetic compound of folate, a B vitamin found in vegetables and liver. Women are advised to take folic acid before conceiving and during the early months of pregnancy to prevent neural tube disorders. Homocysteine is thought to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by damaging the inner lining of arteries.
Wald and his team analysed results of large cohort trials looking at homosysteine and heart attacks in mainly healthy people and others that tested the effects of lowering levels of the amino acid. They also examined studies of people with a genetic mutation, which occurs in one in 10 people that increases their homocysteine level and the impact of folic acid in reducing it.
“The evidence shows that people who have the genetic defect, with higher homocysteine levels are at a high risk,†said Wald.
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide.
Reuters