Folic acid and B vitamins do not affect cancer risk

Folic acid and B vitamins are thought to have an important role in cancer prevention, but a study published in JAMA found that these supplements had no significant effects on overall cancer risk.

More than 5000 women health professionals, aged 42 or older, enrolled in a RCT designed to evaluate the effects of folic acid and B vitamins on cancer risk in women with high risk cardiovascular disease. They were randomly assigned to receive a daily combination of folic acid and B vitamin or a placebo for 7.3 years.

Researchers found that the supplement group had similar risk of developing cancer or death and there was a significant reduced risk of cancer in women aged 65 or older at study entry. The authors said "if the findings is real and substantiated, the results may have public health signficance because the incidence rates of cancer are high in elderly perosns...."

Source: Effect of Combined Folic Acid, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12 on Cancer Risk in Women. JAMA, 2008; 300 (17): 2012-2021 ( f/t via Athens)

Folic acid enriched flour reduces neural tube defetcs

Dr Philippe De Wals of Universite Laval compared the prevalence of neural tube defects before and after the introduction of folic-acid enriched flours for over 2 million births in Canada between 1993 and 2002 and found that addition of floic acid to flours has led to significant drop in the incidence of neural tube defects in Canada. He said that it is better to integrate folic acid into the food chain than focus on taking vitamin supplements.


The study "Redudction in neural-tube defects after folic acid fortification in Canada" is published in NEJM, July 12, 2007, no.2; 357:135-142. Read more....


Currently only Canada, USA and Chile implement folic acid fortification in flour. Folic acid in the UK is unresolved.

Folic acid supplements reduce stroke risk

A review in the June 2 issue of The Lancet shows that taking folic acid supplements reduces the risk of stroke by 18%. The findings also suggest that mandatory fortification of flour could reduce death rates from strokes.