Dr Lackey's Health Information

Timely Medical reports regarding your health and Disease Prevention.

Folic acid and vitamin B6 can prevent coronary heart disease (CHD) in women, but the current recommended intake of the two may be not be high enough to provide the protective effect, according to Rimm and colleagues.... In a prospective cohort study, the researchers examined data from more than 80,000 women over a 14-year follow-up period. Increased folate intake from food or supplements, whether alone or together with vitamin B6, are associated with a markedly lower risk of coronary heart disease among women, the study authors found.

The largest sources of folic acid in the study were multiple vitamins, cold breakfast cereal, orange juice, lettuce, eggs, broccoli, and spinach. The most common sources of B6 were multiple vitamins, beef, cold breakfast cereal, potatoes, bananas, chicken, milk, and tuna fish, the authors reported.

Rimm and colleagues suggested that the recommended dietary allowance of folic acid should be at least 400 µg per day, compared to 180 µg, as is currently recommended.... They also noted that the recommended level of B6 should be higher than the current 1.6 mg per day. They did not recommend a set level, but said women in the study with the lowest heart disease risk were getting in excess of 3 mg per day.