Folic acid under attack!

A dietary supplement failed again!

I know you’re not buying that, and of course I’m not either. But that’s the underlying message from a new study reporting that folic acid supplements failed to reduce heart attacks in patients who have coronary artery disease (CAD).

This study has some striking parallels to the Cleveland Clinic study I told you about in the e-Alert “Blinders In Place” (6/16/03), which concluded that vitamin E and beta-carotene supplements did not prevent death or stroke due to cardiovascular events in people with heart disease and other high risk factors.

In both of these studies, dietary supplements are portrayed as having failed to save the lives (or prevent heart attacks) of patients who were already at high risk. And that’s the key: “Already at high risk.” It’s almost as if the studies were designed specifically to make the supplements appear useless.

Supplements of folic acid, vitamin E, and beta-carotene (vitamin A), are all known to help lower homocysteine levels. When homocysteine levels go down, the risk of plaque buildup in the arteries may lower as well, reducing the chances of coronary artery disease, and in turn reducing the likelihood of heart attack or stroke. And while there’s every reason to believe that these supplements may help patients with CAD manage their heart problems, it would be foolish for anyone to claim that the supplements alone will prevent heart attacks or strokes – especially in patients at high risk. And yet that’s the standard they’re being measured against in these studies.

Dietary supplements are preventive agents. And while they may sometimes help cure, they should not be held up as “Cures” (with a capital C). Nor should they be dismissed as ineffective when they fail to cure those who are at high risk.

In other words – whenever you hear a report about a dietary supplement that has not performed well in a clinical trial, take a long look at the details. Because it’s amazing how often the details run contrary to the headlines.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute