No time to be wishy-washy when we’re in need of the facts
The American Heart Association has just crossed folic acid off the list of recommended supplements, completely going back on its initial support for the effectiveness of folic acid in the role of heart disease prevention.
In spite of a couple recent negative studies of limited value, the totality of evidence comprising hundreds of research studies over the last 30 years supports a link to an increase in homocysteine levels in blood with an increased risk for now not only heart disease, but also dementia.
So, according to the studies, it makes sense to reduce the homocysteine in order to reduce the risk of developing heart disease. And that’s exactly the function that folate performs: It prevents the buildup of homocysteine in the blood. Studies have proven this to be true again and again, with a measurable decrease in risk of heart attack associated with increasing intake of folic acid.
It took some time for mainstream medicine to realize that the number one killer of Americans does not discriminate between the sexes: Heart disease can fell women just as easily as it can men. It has taken an ongoing campaign to educate women on this dismal fact. According to the results of a survey done by the American Heart Association, awareness has grown from 34 percent of women in 2000 recognizing heart disease as their number one killer, to 55 percent of women in 2005 recognizing this fact.
So the campaign for awareness of heart disease has been effective, but what to do to prevent its occurrence has been a challenge, as the verdict keeps shifting, spreading confusion rather than consensus.
Despite the increase in recognition and knowledge of heart disease as not-just-a-man’s disease, women are still being given conflicting and confusing information. They’re not sure what to do to promote heart health and prevent heart disease from striking them in the first place. This fact was underscored by another survey given to women by the American Heart Association. The results gauged a large degree of confusion in heart disease prevention. I can’t help but wonder why the American Heart Association would suddenly reverse their stance on this, but I have my suspicions, and it is something I will be taking a more in-depth look at in an upcoming issue of my newsletter, Health Revelations. Keep an eye out.
