The Journal of the National Cancer Institute recently released results from a study which indicates that taking folic acid containing supplements may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.

What is Folic Acid?

Folate is the naturally occurring form of folic acid, which is its synthetic form. They are both forms of the vitamin B9, which is imperative for producing and maintaining healthy cells. Folate is also thought to help prevent birth defects. Foods such as spinach, asparagus, beans and bananas are good sources of folate. The Food Standards Agency states that adults require 0.2 milligrams per day.

What does the research on folic acid say?

While results from previous studies indicate that increased amounts of dietary folate may have decreased the risks of prostate cancer, this recent study of 643 men over the course of approximately 10 years, provided some interesting results. Men who took folic acid supplements over the 10-year period were found to have an approximate 10% chance of developing prostate cancer. For the men not taking a supplement (placebo), their probability of developing prostate cancer was slightly over 3%.

Folic acid consumed at levels of more than one milligram per day has been suggested by recent evidence to cause harm that outweighs the benefits. The study also revealed that folate is by no means a bad thing as indicated by the fact that having small amounts of naturally occurring folate from dietary sources in the blood appeared to decrease the risk of developing prostate cancer. If you do take a multivitamin, check the label to see the amount of folic acid per dose.

Final Word

So, what can we conclude from all this? It appears that certain levels of natural folate from diet play an important role in lowering the risk of developing prostate cancer. On the contrary, the intake of too much folic acid through supplementation may increase your risk. While nobody yet is recommending that men do not take folic acid supplements, more research appears to be required to investigate the risk levels of taking too much folate. What seems clear however, is that eating a varied and balanced diet helps in fighting and preventing numerous diseases, including prostate cancer.