Folic Acid — A Link to Cognitive Health?

We’ve all heard the Mark Twain quote, “Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” But humorous as this may seem, the reality of it is that as we age our cognitive functioning will decline in varying degrees.

With age, it is quite common to increasingly struggle with trying to recall a once familiar name that now always seems to be right beyond memory’s reach or to feel the frustration of trying to, as my dad used to say, “think fast”. Sometimes it feels like we’re an old 45, and someone’s lowered the rpm to 33.

Scientists around the world are diligently doing research in the hopes of understanding and thereby preventing or even curing this particular malady of the aging process. And while progress toward this end seems to be made in minute chunks, celebration to progress of any degree is in order.

Recently, a team of scientists, led by Jane Durga from Wageningen University in The Netherlands, spent the last three years performing research studying the effects of folic acid on the cognitive function of aging adults. In this study, a random selection of 818 adults, ranging from 50-70 years of age, were given daily either a dietary supplement of 800 micrograms of folic acid or a placebo.

At the conclusion of the study, those participants that had received the folic acid supplement showed improved cognitive functioning, especially in the areas of memory and information processing speed. In those receiving the supplements, it was further shown that folate concentration increased 576% and homocystine levels fell 26%.

The reduction of homocystine levels is significant in that those individuals with higher homocystine levels have been shown to be at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke and possibly even Alzheimers.

The positive implications of supplementing the diet with folic acid have long been established for its role in the prevention of neural-tube defects in newborns. Folic acid, a water-soluble B vitamin, is also found to be helpful in the digestion and utilization of proteins and the synthesization of new proteins when needed, is known to aid in the formation of digestive acids, will help increase appetite when that is needed, can help with tissue growth and cell function, and is essential for the production of red blood cells and DNA synthesis.

According to the National Institute of Health, folic acid can be found naturally within certain foods such as dark, green leafy vegetables such as spinach; poultry, pork, shellfish and liver; beans and legumes; wheat bran and other whole grains; certain seeds such as sunflower; and some citrus fruits and juices.

Throughout this research, in order to ensure consistency and to avoid the possibility of folic acid loss during the cleaning or cooking process, participants of the study were administered folic acid supplements in a synthetic form.

In addition to the positive findings regarding cognitive improvement, in the January 2d issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, these same Dutch researchers reported that for those taking the folic acid supplement there was a lower decline over time in the hearing of low-frequency sounds.