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Folic Acid and Links to Autism

Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 12:09 pm
by Grimork
Many people believe in right wing circles that childhood vaccines cause autism. I have looked into it and found no conclusive evidence to support this claim, YET Autism is still on the rise as seen in this chart below:
Annual frequencies of persons with autism from June 1987 to June 2007.<br />SOURCE: Cavagnaro, A. 2007. Autistic spectrum disorders: Changes in the California caseload. An update: June 1987-June 2007. California Health and Human Services Agency. www.dds.ca.gov/Autism/docs/AutismReport_2007.pdf (accessed July 15, 2015).
Annual frequencies of persons with autism from June 1987 to June 2007.
SOURCE: Cavagnaro, A. 2007. Autistic spectrum disorders: Changes in the California caseload. An update: June 1987-June 2007. California Health and Human Services Agency. www.dds.ca.gov/Autism/docs/AutismReport_2007.pdf (accessed July 15, 2015).
autism.jpg (70.42 KiB) Viewed 3411 times
What could be the answer? Well, most consumers in the US are aware that grains have been fortified to provide Folic Acid to pregnant women in an attempt to reduce birth defects.
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/features/folicacid-prevents-ntds.html wrote:In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required that folic acid be added to enriched grain products (such as bread, pasta, rice, and cereal). This is called fortification.

By looking at the above chart you can see something interesting happen. Levels of Autism are beginning to rise when fortified grains came onto the scene! Now, Folic Acid in the right amount is required to have a healthy baby, and the food industry is NOT trying to give your unborn child autism (they have no motive to do so, it doesn't increase their sales like obesity does).. so we must dig deeper.

Most pregnant women know they should take a prenatal vitamin, but have you ever considered the extreme levels of folic acid that these prenatals contain in some cases? I've had a doctor tell me you CANNOT get too much folic acid and I will show you evidence that, that is a lie!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5704156/ wrote:Folate is required for metabolic processes and neural development. Insuring its adequate levels for pregnant women through supplementation of grain-based foods with synthetic folic acid (FA) in order to prevent neural tube defects has been an ongoing public health initiative. However, because women are advised to take multivitamins containing FA before and throughout pregnancy, the supplementation together with natural dietary folates has led to a demographic with high and rising serum levels of unmetabolized FA. This raises concerns about the detrimental effects of high serum synthetic FA, including a rise in risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some recent studies have reported a protective effect of FA fortification against ASD, but others have concluded there is an increased risk for ASD and other negative neurocognitive development outcomes.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5704156/ Contains a wonderful write up of the link between high levels of FA and Autism.

Greedy vitamin companies accompanied by "well-meaning" doctors have increased Folic Acid levels exponentially over the years with the admonition that the more folic acid the better for your baby! I remember searching for prenatals and being aghast at the levels of Folic Acid in some of these vitamins. Some of these vitamins having over 200% of the DV recommended for Folic Acid! Imagine if you took these AND had a big bowl of cereal? WOW talk about FA overload.
Nature Made prenatal vitamins https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Made-Prenatal-Softgels-90ct/dp/B005DEK9KE/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&amp;keywords=best+prenatals+folic+acid&amp;qid=1605196975&amp;sr=8-5
Nature Made prenatal vitamins https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Made-Prenatal-Softgels-90ct/dp/B005DEK9KE/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=best+prenatals+folic+acid&qid=1605196975&sr=8-5
91qy3EAE7mL._AC_SL1500_.jpg (343.89 KiB) Viewed 3411 times
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5704156/ wrote:The tolerable safe upper limit of FA has been suggested to be 1000 mcg (μg) per day. Prenatal vitamins typically contain 1000 mcg. To put this in perspective, a bowl of breakfast cereal alone may have 400 mcg of supplemented folic acid.
I think it's time we look at what is possibly the real cause for Autism to be on the rise.

Re: Folic Acid and Links to Autism

Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 9:18 pm
by Jim Mathias
Would it be fair to say that the point made here is that getting too much of a good thing can be a bad thing?

A couple of years ago I read in some news article that someone died from drinking too much water in too short of a time period.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-te ... -gatorade/

Re: Folic Acid and Links to Autism

Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 10:27 pm
by Grimork
Jim Mathias wrote:
Thu Nov 12, 2020 9:18 pm
Would it be fair to say that the point made here is that getting too much of a good thing can be a bad thing?

A couple of years ago I read in some news article that someone died from drinking too much water in too short of a time period.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-te ... -gatorade/
Exactly the point Jim. Too little can cause neural defects and too much can cause Autism.

I have also heard a similar story that involved drinking an obscene amount of water quickly and it killing someone. Yep, the more you know. Brings more weight to the old saying "all things in moderation."