I receive nutrition updates from Dr. Stephen Chaney, Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I'd like to share this one with you, as so many Americans struggle with allergies and asthma. Do you know anyone who might benefit from this information? Please feel free to share my blog.
We're learning more and more about what folic acid can do every day. For years we have known that folic acid helps prevent anemia, birth defects and certain kinds of cancer.
However, recent studies have also shown that folic acid is important for reducing inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease.
The link between folic acid and inflammation lead researchers at Johns Hopkins (EC Matsui & W. Matsui, J. Allergy & Clinical Immunology, 123: 1253-1259, 2009) to ask whether folic acid might reduce the prevalence of asthma and allergies.
They investigated the correlation between blood levels of folic acid and circulating antibodies to common allergens, allergy symptoms, and with doctor-diagnosed asthma and wheezing in 8083 subjects from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
The subjects had an average age of 38, were about equally divided between males and females and were representative of the American population with respect to both ethnicity and socioeconomic class.
The investigators didn't know what to expect and were rather surprised by the magnitude of the correlation between folic acid and allergic responses. Their data showed that:
- People with the lowest blood folate levels (below 8
nanograms per milliliter) had 40 percent higher risk of
wheezing than people with the highest folate levels
(above 18 ng/ml).
- People with the lowest folate levels had a 30 percent
higher risk than those with the highest folate levels
of having elevated antibodies to common allergens.
- People with the lowest folate levels had 31 percent
higher risk of allergic symptoms than people with the
highest folate levels.
- People with lowest folate levels had 16 percent
higher risk of having asthma than people with the
highest folate levels.
nanograms per milliliter) had 40 percent higher risk of
wheezing than people with the highest folate levels
(above 18 ng/ml).
- People with the lowest folate levels had a 30 percent
higher risk than those with the highest folate levels
of having elevated antibodies to common allergens.
- People with the lowest folate levels had 31 percent
higher risk of allergic symptoms than people with the
highest folate levels.
- People with lowest folate levels had 16 percent
higher risk of having asthma than people with the
highest folate levels.
It would be a bit premature to declare that folic acid is a cure for asthma & allergies. Further studies will be needed to verify and extend these results. However, there is no risk in making sure that our blood folic acid levels are adequate.
So if you are one of the millions of Americans who suffer from asthma or allergies, my advice would be to make sure that you are getting adequate folic acid through diet and supplementation.
To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G. Chaney
