Is Folic Acid Okay To Take Daily Without Side Effects?

Is Folic Acid Okay To Take Daily

Some healthy people are wondering if they need to take a daily multivitamin. They reason that they do not really have any health problems.

But the question is, for how long?

A young person may feel superb and on top health at the moment. However, it does not guarantee that he will remain in that condition for a long time. In fact, most of us do not eat right. And most health problems begin with nutrition deficiency.

We all know about the health benefit of eating fruits, for example. However, for it to have a real effect, it has to be eaten daily. You cannot, say, eat donuts and burgers and fries for six days then eat seven apples on the weekend and expect to have a healthy heart and arteries for a long time. It just does not work that way.

Now, folic acid or vitamin B9 is proven to be beneficial against heart problems. It follows that we should have adequate levels of folic acid in our system. The question is, is folic acid okay to take daily without causing any unwanted effects.

Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin. It is a vitamin and therefore essential, but the body cannot produce it on its own, so we have to take it from outside sources such as food. Most of our cereals, breads and pasta have been fortified with folic acid. This is just good sense since this vitamin is needed by the body for many things.

However, it is also water soluble, meaning it does not stay in the body for long, and is regularly taken out through urination.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance of folic acid for healthy individuals is 400 mcg. There are two important things in that sentence.

First, the RDA is a minimum. Second, it is a recommended value for healthy individuals. Therefore, it is okay to have a higher dose than 400 mcg, particularly if you have a health condition or risk that would benefit with a regular higher dose of folic acid. For example, for women who want to be pregnant, 600 mcg is the minimum. Folic acid has been documented to prevent neural tube defects in embryos.

Heart conditions or cardiovascular disease is one of the top causes of death in many countries, including the USA. It can be a problem of the heart such as heart valve problems. It can also be a problem of the blood vessels such as blockages in arteries.

In a study by a Canadian epidemiologist involving about 5000 men in the 1970s, he was able to establish a direct link between folic acid levels and heart disease. His study showed that those with low folic acid levels were 69% to have died with heart problems. That is about two out of three. That is significant.

If you are still wondering about the question ‘is folic acid okay to take daily’, let me clarify even further. According to the website of the American Heart Association, homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood. Too much of this substance in the blood is related to coronary artery disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. Adequate folic acid levels, on the other hand, keeps homocysteine levels down.

As pointed out earlier, you cannot, say take seven folic acid tablets on a weekend, and neglect it for the rest of the week. It has to be taken daily. One thing is for sure. With regular folic acid intake, your heart and arteries will continue to be at their healthiest condition. Just make sure to read the labels for proper dosage.  Always get your supplements from a reputable manufacturer.

Check out our full report on Folic Acid here to learn about what we use for our own health needs and why.

Filed under: Health Nutrients

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!