Folate shown to have new health benefits

The health benefits of folate (folic acid) have been well known for many years, yet folate is usually promoted for preventing anemia in pregnant mothers and spinal birth defects. Now a recent study has shown folate, found in leafy green vegetables, can reduce the damaging effects of heart attacks. The study looked at the condition of rats after suffering a heart attack, when they were given folate supplements prior to the heart attack. The results showed that muscle tissue damage was reduced by about 10% for those rats given folate. The team’s findings come just weeks after other international studies, involving humans, suggested that folic acid supplements may prevent dementia in the elderly and premature births. David Kass, M.D., a professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said: “If human studies prove equally effective, then high-dose folate could be given to high-risk groups to guard against possible heart attack, or to people while they are having one.”