B vitamin supplementation and homocysteine
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Inclusion of folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 in a "supplement intended to lower homocysteine in all hyperhomocysteinemic subjects" would be "prudent," Jayne Woodside, et al., The Queen's University of Belfast, say in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Homocysteine levels among 132 mildly hyperhomocysteinemic men ages 30-49 were reduced by 32% with combined supplementation of 1 mg folic acid, 7.2 mg vitamin B6 and 0.02 mg vitamin B12. In the study, subjects were randomized to receive B vitamins alone, B vitamins in combination with antioxidants, antioxidants alone or placebo. The group receiving B vitamins combined with antioxidant vitamins (vitamins C and E and beta-carotene) experienced 30% reduction in homocysteine, though those receiving antioxidants alone had a rise in homocysteine levels of 5.1%...