Folic Acid Could Reduce Risk of Stroke

In what might be the largest study of this kind, researchers reviewed over 20,000 patients who were being monitored already for high blood pressure and were taking enalapril a hypertension medication. Some of the patients had histories of heart disease and stroke.

This study however looked at how folic acid affects the risk of stroke and was able to find that at least in the patients currently using enalapril the folic acid actually helped lower the risk for developing a stroke.

Researchers said the news is very good for anyone that has a stroke risk. However, the great news is anyone can consume folic acid and take advantage of its benefit simply by eating additional beans, leafy green veggies and more citrusy fruits.

Although researchers said that the best source of nutrients is through the diet, it is at time impossible to have enough of the essential nutrients, said one researcher, however the study shows that supplementation of folic acid might help prevent stroke risk.

The study was published March 15, 2015 in the online Journal of the American Medical Association. The study’s results were introduced and then discussed during a meeting in San Diego of the American School for Cardiology.

A Harvard School professor of nutrition and epidemiology notes that fruits as well as vegetables are a very big source of folate in one’s diet, and they also have a great deal of other good benefits such as phytonutrients and potassium that helps to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In the study 2.6% of the patients that took one daily pill of 10 mg of enalapril as well as on of folic acid that was 0.8 mg experienced first strokes in comparison with 3.4% who took only the enalapril.

The most pronounced benefit of the folic acid was amongst study participants who were at the lowest levels of plasma folate, with 2.8% of them experiencing strokes compared to 4.6% of the controls.