The Recipe Doctor
From low-fat recipes to recipes designed for persons with diabetes, Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, shares recipes and advice to create healthy meals that are guaranteed to please. [Editor's note: Elaine no longer contributes to Silver Planet, but we have made her archived blog entries available as a service to our readers.]
Is the Vitamin B Trio a Bust?
Perhaps not as powerful as first thought
Is the famed vitamin B trio (folate [vitamin B9] + vitamin B6 + vitamin B12), which is thought to help prevent heart disease, a bust? The answer leads you back to food, not supplements.
The vitamin B trio entered the heart disease prevention scene when researchers discovered that these vitamins were linked to lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood that is believed to damage artery linings, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. For example, observational studies have shown that people with higher homocysteine levels are at a much greater risk for cardiovascular disease.
Everything was rolling along for the vitamin B trio until some studies suggested it wasn’t quite as powerful as first thought.
More powerful at prevention?
A recent study from Norway found that adding these B vitamins on top of a whole host of other medications—the subjects were heart disease patients, and 75% were already taking statins, antiplatelet drugs, and beta-blockers—doesn’t appear to provide more benefit in terms of reducing heart attack or stroke events, even though subjects’ homocysteine blood levels fell, as was predicted with the vitamin B supplements. It’s possible that these vitamins may work more effectively at preventing heart disease from happening by helping prevent plaque from forming in the first place.
Are you getting too much fake folate?
Getting too much of the synthetic form of folate (folic acid), like you get in vitamin supplements or enriched foods, may block the action of natural folate. Folic acid must be converted to folate before it can be used in the body. And it’s easier than you might think to get too much of the synthetic type (folic acid) if you add up the amount you get from fortified foods (like pasta and breakfast cereals) and multivitamins. The Institute of Medicine has set a “tolerable upper limit” of 1,000 mcg per day of folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. Incidentally, there is no limit on the folate you get naturally from food sources.
Three whole food suggestions to get the “three Bs”
- A smoothie made with nonfat yogurt (B12), banana (B6), strawberries (folate), or oranges (folate)
- Grilled salmon (B12, B6) served with cooked broccoli (folate) or spinach, cooked or as a salad (folate)
- A baked potato (B6) topped with steamed broccoli (folate) and grated cheddar cheese (B12)
By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD
The Recipe Doctor Blog
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