Low Folate Levels Could Cut Colon Cancer Risk

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In the current study, the biggest-ever prospective look at circulating levels of folate and colorectal cancer risk, researchers at Umea University, Sweden, looked at 226 people with colon cancer and 437 controls from the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort.

Participants completed questionnaires on lifestyle, including diet, and also submitted blood samples for analysis.

People with either the lowest or highest levels of circulating folate were the least likely to develop bowel cancer, the researchers found. Those in the middle were almost twice as likely to develop the disease.

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People with a common mutation in the MTHFR gene, which lowers a person's circulating folate levels, also had a lower risk of developing the cancer.

There was no apparent link between homocysteine, an amino acid which may play a role in atherosclerosis, and folate. B vitamins, including folate, tend to keep homocysteine levels down.

If nothing else, the findings should make people think twice before they supplement their diet with large amounts of any one nutrient.

"The study shows us that before we start adding extra things into our diet, we may want to really study them carefully, as we may be doing more harm than good," Brooks said.

More information

To learn more about folic acid, visit the American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org ).

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