In the U.S., bread, cereal and other enriched flour products have been fortified with folic acid (the synthetic form of the vitamin folate) since 1998.
Folic acid supplements have been linked with lowering blood levels of homocysteine, and high levels of homocysteine, and high levels of homocysteine have been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), so it has been thought that taking folic acid might decrease the incidence of events such as heart attack and stroke.
Folic acid supplements have been linked with lowering blood levels of homocysteine, and high levels of homocysteine have been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), so it has been thought that taking folic acid might decrease the incidence of events such as heart attack and stroke.
A new study published in the March 2004 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, led by Dr. Mark I. Evans of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center (Manhattan, N.Y.) compared 27,000 pregnancies from 1997 and 34,000 from 2000. It concluded that folic acid (a.k.a. vitamin B9), in addition to breads and grains sold in the U.S., cut by a th