Folic Acid: Too Much of a Good Thing?

Too much folic acid in your diet may raise your risk of breast and colon cancers. Are you getting more than you need?

By Janis Graham
From Reader's Digest
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Folic Acid Warning
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Taking a multi? Your fortified cereal may be providing more than the recommended daily value of folate.
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Folic acid is one of the rare vitamin supplements with proven health benefits: Since it was added to enriched grain products in the 1990s, the risk of a certain kind of birth defect has plummeted. But recent studies suggest that too much can be dangerous. An excess may raise the risk of breast and colon cancers. Making matters worse, you can race past recommended levels just by taking a multivitamin and eating fortified breakfast cereal.

There's no risk of overdosing on foods rich in folate (the natural form of this vitamin), such as leafy greens, beans, and orange juice. For now, though, people should avoid getting too much folic acid from fortified sources, says researcher Joel Mason, MD, of Tufts University.

"We've known for years that getting too little folate can promote cancer," Dr. Mason says. "Now it looks like getting too much folic acid could be harmful too."

If you eat one of these cereals and pop a multi, consider taking your supplement every other day, experts suggest. And pay attention to cereal serving size -- it's easy to pour a double.

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From Reader's Digest - May 2009
 
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I agree with the reader who who asks, "How much is too much"? The problem is that this article, as well as other sources I have read, have been negligent in addressing this very important factor. The responsible thing to do when publishing articles of this type is (1) list your source(s) so readers can make educated and well-informed decisions or (2) do a follow-up story. Otherwise, the incomplete information you provide in these articles only serve to scare or confuse your reading public.

By martin vera, on 10/24/2009
You can't win. 400mcg. is "perfect" for yearssss, then they tell you 800mcg. is what we're "suppose" to be taking now. They say Folic Acid is synthetic while Folate is natural. So, when taking Folic acid, which is readily absorbed in the body, it's much better than Folate since one needs a much higher dose? Too much/too little of anything is not good, so stop with all the scare tactics. It's annoying to get different messages from all avenues constantly.

By Daniella Marie, on 08/20/2009
The ariticle should have specified exactlhy how much is too much . My first pregnancy last year my twins had Anencephaly. i was taking 400mcg folic acid for months before i got pregnant from my prenatals but i guess that wasn't enough. My doctor told me I have to take 4,000 mcg (4mg) of folic acid to reduce the chance of another birth defect happening. You definetly need to tell some people do need to take high dose of folic acid.

By Gia82, on 05/27/2009
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