Folate Decreased Risk for Stroke

Dietary folate reduces stroke risk by 20%, according to results of a 20-year prospective study reported in the medical journal Stroke.

This study followed 9764 men and women, aged 25-74 years, without cardiovascular disease when they enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS). Median folate intake was 203.7 mcg per day, although white men tended to consume more folate.

Subjects who consumed at least 300 mcg of folate daily had a 20% lower risk of stroke and a 13% lower risk of cardio vascular disease than those consuming less than 136 mcg of folate daily. Subjects with higher folate intake had slightly lower average systolic blood pressure and lower average total cholesterol levels than those who ate less folate.

Dietary folate was significantly and inversely related to the risk of stroke and cardio vascular disease, after adjustments for history of diabetes, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body mass index, recreational physical activity, educational level, alcohol consumption, and current cigarette smoking.

The inverse relationship between dietary folate and stroke and cardiovascular risk was consistent between sexes and across levels of physical activity and tobacco use.

As dietary folate intake was determined from subjects' recall of foods eaten in a single 24-hour period, Bazzano points out that this study may actually underestimate the strength of the association between dietary folate and cardio vascular protection. She endorses the American Heart Association's recommendation that adults take 400 mcg of folate daily and that pregnant women take 600 mcg daily.

• Additional studies are forthcoming that will further demonstrate whether folate intake has a direct, causal role in reducing the risk for stroke, heart attack, or other cardiac events.
• It is possible that other factors may be responsible for the reduction in risk. People with a high intake of one nutrient are likely to have a high intake of several nutrients, and may generally have a healthy lifestyle.
• Intake of more than 1000 mcg/day of folate can hide symptoms of B12 deficiency. A blood test can measure serum B12, or see if methylmalonic acid is elevated as a proxy for functional B12 shortage. Oral supplementation with 1000 mcg/day of B12 corrects or protects against most cases of deficiency (except those due to metabolic or serious malabsorption issues). If untreated, B12 deficiency can result in nerve damage.
• This article is not intended to replace the advice or attention of your doctor or other health care professional. Do not stop taking medications or start taking any nutrition supplement without first speaking to a qualified health care professional.