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Folic Acid: Folates
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The body more readily absorbs folic acid from vitamin supplements and fortified foods than folate from food. It is estimated that 50 percent of food folate is absorbed by the body, while approximately 85 percent of folic acid in fortified foods and 100 percent of the folic acid in a vitamin supplement are absorbed. Cooking and storage ... destroy some of the folate in foods. The body cannot distinguish the origin of the vitamin, however; once in the bloodstream the biological function is the same.
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Once a neoplasm forms, folic acid levels need to be decreased. In neoplasms, DNA replication and cell division are both occurring in an uncontrolled manner. Folate, which assists in this process, needs to be inhibited, causing an interruption in DNA synthesis and slowing the growth of the tumor. Chemotherapeutic agents called antimetabolites, or folic acid antagonists, such as methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), inhibit the enzymatic pathways for biosynthesis of nucleic acids by substituting for folic acid and sabotaging the reaction. Unfortunately, drugs that inhibit the biosynthesis of cancer cells ... inhibit the biosynthesis of normal cells, resulting in extremely toxic side effects. To counter the side effects, a drug called leucovorin (a form of folate also known as Wellcovorin, Citrovorum and folinic acid) opposes the toxic effects of methotrexate on normal tissue.
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A healthy diet includes foods that are fortified with folic acid and foods that contain folate, the natural form of folic acid that is found in foods. Many grain products in the United States are fortified with folic acid. This means that a synthetic (manufactured) form of folic acid is added to them. Enriched flour, rice, pasta, bread and cereals are examples of fortified grain products (check the label to see if a product is enriched). Folate-rich foods include leafy green vegetables, dried beans, legumes, oranges and orange juice.
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Folic acid... called folate or vitamin B9, is critical to many body processes, including the health of your nervous system, blood, and cells. It protects against heart disease, birth defects, osteoporosis, and certain cancers.
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Orally administered folic acid is rapidly absorbed mainly from the wall of the proximal small intestine as the 5-methyltetrahydrofolate metabolite. This metabolite is extensively bound to plasma proteins in the portal circulation. Folic acid is rapidly absorbed from normal diets and is widely distributed in body tissues with the liver as the principal storage site. Folate is ... distributed in breast milk.
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The FDA adopted the fortification policy to prevent birth defects, and some health advocates want even higher levels of folic acid in foods. But fortification may have unintended effects on people at risk of cancer, said Dr. Joel Mason, an expert on folate and cancer prevention at Tufts University in Boston who was not involved in the new study.
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