Folic Acid: Too Much of a Good Thing?

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.

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.

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.

Regarding folic acid supplements, I take 1200 micrograms of folic acid daily. I was recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and, along with the methotrexate which is widely prescribed for the disease, folic acid is recommended in conjunction for improved effectiveness of the drug. I wonder if all the cereal I consume would add too much folic acid to my diet.

I disagree with the "fix" for this potential problem. Multivitamins contain dozens of other important nutrients besides folic acid. Skipping the multi every other day will deprive you of all their benefits. I would suggest skipping the high folic acid cereal every other day, which has much less when it comes to other valuable nutrients. It would also have been nice if the article specified exactly how much is too much, in numbers, so we could all check our intake.