People are flocking to folic acid and vitamin B6 supplements because of reports that they might protect against heart disease or cancer. Georgia State University Nutrition Dept. A new government requirement for adding folic acid to food is set too low to reduce the risk of heart disease, researchers report. The Food and Drug Administration this year began requiring fortification of enriched flour and pasta to boost each person's intake by about 100 micrograms a day. The FDA hopes to prevent the birth defect known as spina bifida.
Folic acid is needed in the first weeks of pregnancy for spinal development.
Because folic acid also lowers plasma levels of homocysteine-a by product of food metabolism that injures blood vessels. Doctors hoped the policy also would lower the risk of heart disease. The new study suggests that it won't. Manuel Malinow of the Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, and his colleagues studied folic acid and homocysteine levels for 15 weeks in 75 men and women with heart disease. In an accompanying editorial, Godfrey Oakley of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the government's minimum standard may also be too low to prevent birth defects.