I take regularly folic acid. Are there any dangerous side effects?

Vitamin B complex has eight B vitamins. These are water soluble vitamins are are important for our health. In normal doses there are no side effects. In overdoses there are side effects. This is the reason I advise you to consult with your doctor before you take any supplement.

Folic acid or folate is vitamin B9. The daily recommended intake is:

0 – 6 months -----------30 microg
6 – 12 months ---------50 microg
1 – 18 years ------------100 – 400 microg
18 years + ---------------400 microg
Pregnant -----------------1000 microg
Lactating -----------------1000 microg

Deficiency symptoms and risk factors include:

• Haemolytic and megaloblastic anaemia
• Abnormal faetal development, eg. Neural tube defect
• Vascular degeneration
• High homocynteine levels
• Low energy
• Confusion
• Forgetfulness
• Irritability
• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Insomnia (sleep disorders)
• Risk to develop some cancers
• Cervical dysplasia

The overdose side effects include:

• Increases LDL/HDL ratio
• Nausea
• Bloating
• Zinc and potassium deficiency
• Loss of appetite
• May mask anaemia from vitamin B12
• Kidney damage
• Worsens some forms of childhood leukemia
• Increased risk to develop some cancers from vitamin B complex supplements
• Reduces or interferes with the effectiveness of methotrexate (an anticancer drug used in chemotherapy), anticonvulsant drugs, barbiturates, estrogen and sulfasalazine

Folate is the natural form of vitamin B9 and folic acid is the synthetic form. Anything in excess is dangerous for our health and a doctor can give you always the right advice.

Can you tell me the functions of folic acid and the foods rich in it?

If you plan for a baby you must take enough folic acid. Here the folic acid supplement plays a vital role.

The functions of folic acid include:

• Important in reducing blood homosysteine levels
• Cell growth and division
• Formation of red blood cells
• Protein metabolism
• To prevent neural tube defects, spina bifida and anencephaly. Neural tube defects occur in the early days following conception.

The foods rich in folic acid include:

Excellent food sources of folic acid include:
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Chick peas
• Dried beans
• Pulses
• Spinach.
Very good food sources of folic acid include:
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Leeks
• Oranges
• Orange juice
• Parsley
• Peas
• Wheat germ
• Wholegrain products
Good food sources of folic include:
• Nuts, unsalted
• Parsnips
• Potato
• Seeds
• Salmon
• Strawberries
• Tomato
• Liver is a very good source of folic acid, but not good for pregnant women because of high vitamin A content
• Eggs
All leafy vegetables are excellent source of folic acid. Milk, yogurt, fats, cheese, oils and sweets are poor sources of folic acid.

What are the right foods for a pregnant?

There is no need to eat for two during the pregnancy. It is recommended that for the first trimester the food intake should remain about the same as it was prior to the pregnancy. During the second and third trimesters the food intake should be increased upto 30%. It is easy to achieve this with more fruits intake.

It is important to eat variety of foods to ensure the nutritional needs of both mother and the baby. The recommendations include:

• Fruits and vegetables very generously
• Whole grain products and cereals, but not milled grain products
• Milk and dairy products should not be eaten in excess
• Lean meat, chicken and fish in moderate amounts
• Avoid excess intake of fats, sugar and salt
• Beans, pulses, nuts and seeds
• Drink enough water

Do not diet if you are a pregnant. This bad for you as well as to your baby. Green leafy vegetables are very important for the intake of folic acid. Folic acid supplement is recommended for the health of your baby. It is better to consult your doctor before you take a supplement.

With proper food it is possible to manage the iron content of your body also. Iron supplement could be taken only if your doctor recommends it.

Avoid excess of vitamin A intake and vitamin A supplements are not required. The excessive intake of vitamin A may cause birth deformities.

Is it necessary to take folic acid if we plan a baby?

Yes, folic acid is important before you plan because in the very early stages of pregnancy. Folic acid plays a vital role in cell formation and division.

Folic acid should be taken if you plan for a baby because it is important immediately after fertilization. If you take after you know that you are pregnant it is too late.

Folic acid is used in our bodies for cell formation and multiplication, DNA replication and formation of red and white cells. It can significantly minimise the risk of giving birth to a baby with a congenital neural tube defect.

Dark green leafy vegetables, pulses, legumes and nuts are rich in folic acid, but it is always impossible to take the daily intake from these foods because so much we cannot eat. So I recommend folic acid supplementation if you plan for a baby. It is good as a part of vitamin B complex tablet, it is not necessary to buy costly folic acid mono preparations. If you want to buy a vitamin B complex without folic acid, then it is not a real vitamin B complex, then better do not buy it.

Recommended daily intake is 400 micro g, pregnants need 600 micro g. Too much, around 1000 micr g. from food supplemets could cause mild side effects. In this case consult with your doctor nd reduce the amount.

The benefits of folic acid is better than the mild side effects caused by them.

Is homocysteine a risk factor for heart attack?

Homocysteine is an amino acid found in our body. But it is not a building block of protein or muscles. It is formed as an intermediate step in the production of methionine, another essential amino acid.

The production of methionine requires many B vitamins. If these are not enough in the blood the homocysteine level increases. This is a independant risk factor for developing plaque in the arteries, thus for heart attack and stroke.

Vitamin B6, Folic acid and B12 are necessary for the production, metabolism and excretion of homocysteine. These vitamins are also in low levels in many even in Western countries. I have seen this in several blood samples in Germany.

If the level of homocysteine is high the medicine is vitamin B complex tablets. It is not necessary to buy the costly tablet which contains only vitamin B6, folic acid and B12.

The reference values in the blood are 5 to 15 mg per litre blood. I have seen in a patient more than 170 mg and with B complex tablets we could bring it to the reference values within 8 months. As we see our food is very important for our health.

My husband bought vitamins to reduce homocysteine which is a risk factor for heart diseases, is it correct?

Homocysteine is an amino acid and for its synthesis, metabolism and excretion we need vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid.

Even in Western countries many are deficient in vitamin B6 and folic acid. The medicine to reduce the amount is vitamin B complex supplementation. It is not necessary to buy extra vitamin preparation with only vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid which are much costlier than the vitamin B complex tablets.

Is it necessary to take folic acid if we plan a baby?

Yes, it is important to take folic acid before you plan because in the very early stages of pregnancy, folic acid plays a vital role in cell formation and division. It can significantly minimise the risk of giving birth to a baby with a congenital neural tube defect.

Dark green leafy vegetables, pulses, legumes and nuts are rich in folic acid, but it is always impossible to take the daily intake from these foods because so much we cannot eat. So I recommend folic acid supplementation if you plan for a baby. It is good as a part of vitamin B complex tablet, it is not necessary to buy costly folic acid mono preparations. If you want to buy a vitamin B complex without folic acid, then it is not a real vitamin B complex, then better do not buy it.

I have diabetes for the past six months, can I eat papaya?

Deliciously sweet with musky undertones and a soft, butter-like consistency have brought the name for papaya the “fruit of the angels” according to Christopher Columbus.

It is rich in vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, vitamins A, E, K and dietary fibre. It is rich in antioxidants.

Papaya is considered for the following conditions:

• It protects against heart diseases
• It has anti-inflammatory Effects
• It promotes digestive health
• It supports the immune system
• It protects against arthritis
• It promotes lung health
• It is a useful food against prostate cancer

Papaya has very low amount of carbohydrates, approximately 10 g in 100 g edible fruit and you can eat it.

A maximum of 200g papaya is recommended per day

Food & Fertility: Food rich in vitamin B6, Folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and zinc

Food rich in Vitamin B6

• Vegetables
• Whole grain products
• Nuts
• Legumes
• Fish
• Poultry
• Meat
• Milk

Plant food loses less Vitamin B6 than meat and milk during cooking. Milling reduces vitamin B6 and so white flour (Maida) has very little vitamin B6. All the processing techniques including freezing, cooking, canning etc. can make vitamin B6 loss.

Food rich in Folic acid

• Meat and inner organs like liver, kidney etc.
• Nuts
• Beans and legumes
• Leafy vegetables
• It is present in all vegetables in small quantities and it is very difficult to take the necessary amount from the food or from raw food. The loss in cooking is always very high. Here we have to think about the supplement.

Food rich in Vitamin C

• Citrus fruits like oranges, grape fruit and lemon
• Vegetables with dark green leaves
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Strawberries
• Kiwi
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Capsicum
• Liver
• Oyster

Vitamin C is unstable. Losses occur from exposure to air, light, heat and copper.
Also dissolves in cooking water and is mostly wasted.

Food rich in vitamin E

• Edible vegetable oils such as sesame oil, coconut oil, groundnut oil
• Unprocessed cereals
• Unprocessed nuts
• Seeds
• Green leafy vegetables
• Fish
• Poultry
• Fruits and vegetables contain small amount of vitamin E

Vitamin E is relatively stable except at deep frying temperatures.

Food rich in Selenium
• Meats
• Seafood
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Nuts and seeds, particularly nuts from tropical countries including coconut
• Whole grains are rich in selenium

The problem is in most countries the soil is poor in selenium and the local food contains almost no selenium. That is why in most of the developed countries it is added in bread or in other food stuff. Or they must eat nuts imported from tropical countries. If nothing helps supplementation is the last step.

Food rich in Zinc

• Onion
• Garlic
• Nuts including coconut
• Milk, yoghurt and cheese
• Meat
• Liver
• Fish
• Eggs
• Seafood

Fruits and vegetables contain only little zinc. The vegetarians must be careful in their food. Nuts, pulses and milk and dairy products may be the rich sources.

Seafood contains poisonous metals like mercury, cadmium, lead etc. and one must be careful to eat them.

Food and Fertility

What are the best foods for fertility?

The following are the best foods for women who want to become pregnant:

Nuts, whole grains, beans and pulses can promote ovulation and polished grains and flours and, sweets, chocolates, cakes and soft drinks decrease fertility.

Whole milk but not low fat yoghurt increases fertility although normally animal fats are not good.

What about fruits and vegetables in fertility?

Several hundreds of plants have phytoestrogens and these have weak estrogenic activity that means these help to regulate the female sexual hormone. These have influences on hormone concentration which positively regulates sex drive, reproduction and menopausal symptoms and may help to prevent breast cancer.

Foods rich in phytoestrogens are wheat bran, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, legumes and pulses.

What about meat or animal fat?

For both women and men, if they plan a baby it is better to cut completely animal fat except milk for women. Particularly, a fatty diet may play havoc in male sex hormones and so, his sex life. After sometimes of high fat intake, testosterone level comes down and that makes problems.

In women fatty food increases the estrogens levels, thus helps fertility. Normally low fat food can protect from breast cancer.

What is the relationship between vitamin C and sperm?

Vitamin C can give agility to sperm because it is an antioxidant which protects sperm from the attack of oxygen free radicals. Intake of 1000 mg of vitamin C for two months can remove most of the environmental chemicals from the semen and make it fertile. But, there may be other causes for the infertility and it is necessary to diagnose correctly and only this additive effects will lead to success.

Fruits which are rich in vitamin C are well known to you. If you need supplementation, first consult your doctor because in overdose this antioxidant may act as pro-oxidant, this is against our interest.

What about folic acid?

Folic acid is necessary for safety of the foetus against neural tube defect. It should be taken immediately as you plan a baby because these defects may occur in the early days of pregnancy.

What are the other important things that I must know?

Drinking 3 to 4 litre of water daily and taking care of iron status in the body and eating lean red meat are advisable.

What about the vitamins other than vitamin C and folic acid?

The other two important vitamins are vitamin B6 and E which influence the hormone balance and their deficiency results in reduced fertility. You know already which foods are rich in vitamin B6. Oils or fat which are rich in vitamin E should be taken only in small quantities. It is better to supplement vitamin B complex because from our studies we know that many, even in Western countries, have vitamin B6 deficiency.

Are excessive vitamins good for fertility?

Do not take excessive amount of vitamins and this may reduce fertility. Further, high level of vitamins can also cause side-effects. For example, excess vitamin B6 can cause neurological damage and vitamin C could act as pro-oxidant and reduce fertility.

Are the oysters a good source of good Zinc?

Yes. Oysters are rich in zinc. However, it is advisable not to eat oysters. Oysters also contain poisonous heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic and mercury. There are other far better sources of zinc.

What about the myth about figs or eggs?

These are normal food, nothing more than that, but their shape has nothing to do with the fertility and it is only a wrong belief.

Many pharmaceutical companies say vitamin supplements are much needed, is it so?

Too much of vitamins will only do harm, try to take them from your food and if it is not possible consult your doctor.

What about coffee?

Some say for women decaffeinated and for men strong coffee, but one to two cups can be taken a day, tea or coffee by both.

What about trans-fat?

Trans-fats are used almost in all processed foods including chocolates. They have no nutritional value, but these are added only to increase the shelf life of food. These fats affect the fertility of women.

Is selenium very important?

Selenium is important because it helps to scavenge free radicals. Semen contains lot of selenium and zinc.

Next: Food rich in Vitamin C, E, B6, Folic acid, zinc and selenium