Powerful effects of folic acid: Anti-cancer Anti-stroke ….
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Powerful effects of folic acid: anti-cancer, anti-stroke, treatment of atrophic gastritis…
Powerful effects of folic acid: anti-cancer, anti-stroke, treatment of atrophic gastritis…
Folic acid (vitamin B9) has made outstanding achievements in preventing neonatal teratogenicity. , Neural tube defects, prevent anemia and preeclampsia in pregnant women, and promote placental development.
Not only that, it also has a series of incredible effects.
What’s even better is that it has almost no side effects except for occasional mild allergic reactions. Even if it is taken 20 times the minimum dose, it will not be poisoned, and the excess will be excreted in the urine.
Let me take a look. Besides preparing for pregnancy, what other miraculous effects does it have? Who is it suitable for?
1. Stroke risk is reduced by 73% and kidney failure is delayed
In May 2018, the “Journal of the American College of Cardiology” (JACC) broke another big news: when the platelets of hypertensive patients are less than 218×10^9/L, the risk of folic acid supplementation can be reduced by 73%!
As early as 2015, the results of the CSPPT trial conducted by Professor Huo Yong from the First Hospital of Peking University in China stated that this randomized controlled trial involving more than 20,000 hypertensive patients showed that on the basis of taking the antihypertensive drug enalapril, every Daily folic acid supplementation can reduce the incidence of stroke in hypertensive patients from 3.4% to 2.7%, a relative risk reduction of 21%. The findings were published in the March 15, 2015 issue of JAMA.
In May 2018, the Peking University First Hospital team, which led the trial, published a follow-up analysis.
Hypertensive patients with low platelets are the most obvious benefit from folic acid supplementation.
If the patient’s platelets are lower than 218×10^9 /L, the risk reduction of folic acid supplementation can reach 73%.
This study included 10,789 Chinese adults with hypertension (mean age, 59.5 years, 38% male, no history of stroke or myocardial infarction).
After 4.2 years of follow-up, a total of 371 first stroke events occurred.
The lowest incidence of first stroke (3.3%) was high PLT and low tHcy levels (<15 μmol/l) in the Prixil monotherapy group, and the highest (5.6%) patients were low PLT and high tHcy levels .
High-risk stroke patients had a 73% reduction in stroke incidence in the combined folic acid group (HR: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.11 – 0.64; p = 0.003), while there was no significant difference in low-risk patients.
Powerful effects of folic acid: anti-cancer, anti-stroke, treatment of atrophic gastritis…
In addition, a 2016 paper by Professor Huo Yong’s team published in the Journal of the American Medical Association-Internal Medicine showed that folic acid supplementation also effectively delayed the progression of chronic renal failure in patients in the CSPPT trial.
Although folic acid has many benefits, how to screen out patients who need folic acid supplementation the most?
In fact, it is very simple, that is – the value of platelets. Studies have shown that the benefit of taking folic acid is maximized when the platelet count is less than 218×10^9/L .
The reasons are as follows:
Homocysteine (Hcy) level is currently the most accurate independent health indicator.
High Hcy is an important independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, especially stroke. High Hcy can damage arteries, heart, and brain, leading to arteriosclerosis, hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, premature aging, cancer, and is associated with more than 50 diseases.
Hcy can induce damage to vascular endothelial cells, leading to stroke and coronary heart disease, and endothelial cell damage can also affect platelet aggregation, resulting in a decrease in the number of platelets.
Therefore, a simple blood routine examination can achieve the goal of evaluating the benefit of patients .
Statistics show that China is a country with a high incidence of stroke, with 2 million new cases every year. Stroke causes 1.5 million deaths every year, and is the second leading cause of death in urban and rural areas after tumors.
About three-quarters of the surviving patients lost their ability to work to varying degrees, and 40% were severely disabled.
The national annual treatment cost for the disease is huage, which is a heavy economic burden on the country and the family.
Compared with statins for the treatment of stroke, the use of folic acid is more cost-effective and more suitable for China’s national conditions.
For example, “antihypertensive drugs plus folic acid” can be used for the prevention of elderly normal people, especially in northern China, with a high incidence of stroke and low folic acid levels. The expectation of folic acid supplementation is better than that in Western countries.
2. Improve sperm quality
The latest research proves that when folic acid is insufficient in men’s body, the concentration of men’s semen will decrease, and the motility of sperm will be weakened, making it difficult to conceive.
It may also increase the chance of chromosomal defects, increasing the risk of serious diseases in children when they grow up.
Researchers at California State University, Berkeley, analyzed the sperm quality of 89 healthy men and recorded their daily intake of zinc, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene.
The results showed that men who consumed the highest levels of folic acid had the lowest rates of abnormal sperm. Daily intake of 722-1500 micrograms will reduce the risk factor by 20%-30%!
Men who are preparing to become fathers can properly supplement folic acid, such as eating more green leafy vegetables, fruits, and legumes.
3. Delay Alzheimer’s
The US FDA approved the addition of folic acid to infant milk powder.
As a healthy food additive, folic acid can promote the growth of infant brain cells and improve intelligence.
For the elderly, folic acid can also play a role in nourishing the nerves.
Adequate folic acid can not only reduce the damage to cerebral blood vessels caused by harmful substances in the human body, but also help reduce cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s caused by brain nerve damage.
The prevention of anemia in the elderly
When people reach old age, the hematopoietic system will degenerate to a certain extent, and senile anemia is prone to occur.
In addition to iron deficiency causing anemia, folic acid deficiency can also cause anemia in the elderly.
Folic acid is a substance necessary for the growth and reproduction of human cells, and one of the raw materials for the body’s hematopoiesis.
Lack of folic acid will lead to abnormal red blood cells, and the maturation of red blood cells will also be hindered.
The clinical manifestation is megaloblastic anemia, and patients will appear pale, lethargic, forgetful, insomnia, and gastrointestinal disorders and other adverse symptoms.
Elderly people with folic acid deficiency anemia can take folic acid tablets to supplement folic acid under the guidance of a doctor. Although it is a health care product, they should not eat more.
5. Reduce the risk of cancer
Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin that escorts the synthesis of cellular DNA and inactivates cancer genes, thereby preventing the occurrence of cancer.
It should be reminded that the report said that although folic acid is very important to human health, excessive intake will increase the risk of cancer instead of decreasing.
Usually we get about 300 micrograms of folic acid from food every day. To have a preventive effect, it is best for middle-aged and elderly people to supplement with an additional 200 micrograms.
6. Inhibit obesity genes and improve childhood obesity
A mouse experiment in the United States found that if pregnant obese mice ate a moderate amount of folic acid and vitamin B12, the risk of inheriting the obesity gene to the next generation was reduced by 50%, and the obesity gene disappeared by the third generation.
The researchers estimate that folic acid, insulin, and vitamin B12 have chemicals that suppress the obesity gene, which becomes inactive during pregnancy.
If pregnant women supplement enough folic acid, the next generation can also develop healthy diet and living habits.
It is believed that improving the problem of childhood obesity is just around the corner.
7. Treat atrophic gastritis and improve the eradication rate of Hp
Studies have shown that taking folic acid is also effective in improving chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) and reversing intestinal metaplasia.
The researchers selected 67 patients with H.pylori-negative chronic atrophic gastritis and divided them into a control group and a treatment group.
The control group was given conventional therapy (pepsin); the treatment group was given conventional therapy plus folic acid and vitamin B12.
At 24 weeks, the folic acid, vitamin B12, clinical symptoms, gastroscope and pathological biopsy scores were compared.
Conclusion: Folic acid and vitamin B12 can improve the clinical symptoms and histological changes of H.pylori-negative chronic atrophic gastritis patients, and are worthy of clinical application.
Another group of studies also observed the long-term effect of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication therapy combined with folic acid in patients with chronic atrophic gastritis.
A total of 123 CAG patients who underwent H.pylori eradication therapy were selected as the research objects. According to the treatment plan, they were divided into a combination group (n=71) and a simple eradication group (n=52).
The patients in the simple eradication group were given standard triple H.pylori eradication therapy. , the patients in the combination group were given folic acid tablets for 3 mo after H. pylori eradication was successful.
Follow-up by gastroscope was performed 2 years after treatment, and the operable intestinal metaplasia assessment (OLGIM) and atrophy assessment in relation to the risk of gastric cancer were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.
(OLGA) staging, according to the results of the 13C urea breath test 2 years after treatment, the patients in the combined group were divided into the H.pylori eradication success group (n=49) and the H.pylori reinfection group (n=22). CAG lesion scores before and after treatment.
Conclusion: H.pylori eradication therapy combined with folic acid can significantly improve the degree of gastric mucosal atrophy and intestinal metaplasia in CAG patients, and promote their disease recovery.
The long-term application effect is satisfactory, and the effect of successful H.pylori eradication is better.
Powerful effects of folic acid: anti-cancer, anti-stroke, treatment of atrophic gastritis…
(source:internet, reference only)
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