New web page Vitamin D is at least 100 X better than Folic Acid Sept 2018
Mandatory Folic Acid reduced Spina bifida rate by 1 in 2000 births
Mandatory vitamin D would reduce premature birth: 1 in 10 ==> 1 in 20 births
Thus for 2000 births Folic acid would prevent 1 Spina Bifida birth, but Vitamin D prevent 100 premature births
Note: Premature Birth is the biggest cause the death for children age 0 - 5 years.
Similar lifetime cost (about $700,000 ) of a premature birth and a Spina bifida birth
But 100X more bad birth outcomes could be prevented by Vitamin D than by Folic Acid
References
CDC Lifetime cost of SB $700,000
Artificial Folic acid vs natural Folate
https://www.drfuhrman.com/library/folic_acid_dangers_and_prenatal_vitamins.aspx
Folic Acid increases Breast Cancer risk by 20%
Folic Acid increases colorectal cancer by 35%
Folic Acid increases risk of childhood asthma by 26%
Folic Acid 43% more likely to die from cancer.
Folic Acid, then 30 years later twice as likely to die from breast cancer
Folate was proven to reduce NTD, not Folic Acid
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-benefits-and-risks-of-folic-acid-supplementation/
That folic acid may interfere with cancer has been known since the 1940’s.
Variety of RCT showed problems of Folic acid
Plasma folate, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12 and breast cancer risk in BRCA1- and BRCA2-mutation carriers: a prospective study Sept 2016
High Folate in blood increased the risk of Breast Cancer by 3.2X
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2802%2911994-5/abstract
prevalence of open neural tube defects declined from 1 per 1000 pregnancies before fortification to 0·6 per 1000 pregnancies thereafter.
http://bodyecology.com/articles/folate-versus-folic-acid-for-pregnancy
Folic acid is cheaper and easier to use than Folate
http://www.uptodate.com/contents/folic-acid-supplementation-in-pregnancy
“However, it is estimated that only 15 to 25 percent of folic acid–preventable spina bifida and anencephaly worldwide is being prevented through folic acid supplementation and food fortification programs”
http://www.cochrane.org/CD006896/PREG_folic-acid-supplementation-in-pregnancy Free PDF
http://paleoforwomen.com/folate-vs-folic-acid-how-to-avoid-a-dangerous-pregnancy/
the correct form of what your body needs is folate
While folic acid can be converted by the body to a usable form of folate, the conversion process is limited and this frequently leads to excessive levels of unmetabolized folic acid in the blood (this is unhealthy). Furthermore – and incredibly importantly – folic acid cannot cross the placenta to the foetus, the way natural folate can.
http://healthybabycode.com/5-myths-about-pregnancy-nutrition-5-folic-acid-supplements-are-safe
Folic acid does prevent neural tube defects, but doesn’t have the other beneficial effects of natural folate.
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/101/6/432.short
Prostate Cancer 2.6X more likely if take 1 mg of Folic Acid vs placebo PDF on-line
Prostate Cancer 0.7X less likely if take Folate (Folic Acid)
US Neural tube defects: 4,200 before fortification ==> 2,900
See also Vitamin D Life
- Prenatal VITAMIN D is more important than other prenatal vitamins
- Autism risk reduced 2X by prenatal vitamins (Vitamin D or Folic) – Feb 2019
- Neural tube defects – ALL of the women had low vitamin D – May 2016
- Folic acid reduces both premature births and neural tube defects – March 2017
- Neural tube defects more likely due to low vitamin D than low Folate – April 2017
- Off topic: Folic Acid - the horror story (for a small percentage of people) - Sept 2013
- Off topic – Making birth defects ‘preventable’ Folic acid and the politics of risk reduction - Nov 2013
- Vitamin D and Folate fortification of foods - April 2012
- Spina Bifida associated with low vitamin D – Dec 2014
- Autism 17 times more likely with excessive Folic Acid and B-12 (now added to bread) – May 2016
- Search Vitamin D Life for FOLATE OR FOLIC found 742 items as of July 2016
- Increased cows milk allergy if Folic acid or Folate added to vitamin D during pregnancy – June 2016
Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D has the following summary
Problem | Reduces | Evidence |
| 0. Chance of not conceiving | 3.4 times | Observe |
| 1. Miscarriage | 2.5 times | Observe |
| 2. Pre-eclampsia | 3.6 times | RCT |
| 3. Gestational Diabetes | 3 times | RCT |
| 4. Good 2nd trimester sleep quality | 3.5 times | Observe |
| 5. Premature birth | 2 times | RCT |
| 6. C-section - unplanned | 1.6 times | Observe |
| Stillbirth - OMEGA-3 | 4 times | RCT - Omega-3 |
| 7. Depression AFTER pregnancy | 1.4 times | RCT |
| 8. Small for Gestational Age | 1.6 times | meta-analysis |
| 9. Infant height, weight, head size within normal limits | RCT | |
| 10. Childhood Wheezing | 1.3 times | RCT |
| 11. Additional child is Autistic | 4 times | Intervention |
| 12.Young adult Multiple Sclerosis | 1.9 times | Observe |
| 13. Preeclampsia in young adult | 3.5 times | RCT |
| 14. Good motor skills @ age 3 | 1.4 times | Observe |
| 15. Childhood Mite allergy | 5 times | RCT |
| 16. Childhood Respiratory Tract visits | 2.5 times | RCT |
RCT = Randomized Controlled Trial
See also web
- https://examine.com/supplements/folic-acid/ Examine.Com, March 2016, extensive Folic Acid analysis
"it appears that prolonged exposure to levels up to 250% the RDA may be associated with a relative increase in the rates of cancer, particularly colon cancer among the elderly" - Did you know? Folate deficiency causes breaks in DNA equivalent to 0.2 Gy of x-ray irradiation.
This is because folate is required for the incorporation of thymidine (DNA nucleotide) into DNA and when folate is low the body substitutes uracil (RNA nucleotide) for thymidine. This means that folate deficiency is equivalent to being exposed to 0.2 Gy of ionizing radiation, a dose which is ~10 times that greater than the allowed safety limit of exposure for the general population. - Found My Fitness Oct 2017