Folic acid fortification
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Mandatory food fortification "significantly improved" red blood cell folate concentrations in Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort, Silvina Choumenkovitch, Tufts University, et al., report in December Journal of Nutrition. Researchers compared red blood cell folate in 561 B vitamin supplement non-users examined before mandatory fortification in January 1998 with 354 non-users after fortification. Exposed subjects had a mean RBC folate 38% higher than pre-fortification individuals; prevalence of subjects with deficient RBC folate was 4.9% in unexposed group, compared to 1.9% post-fortification. Among B vitamin users, RBC folate levels were 24% higher in exposed group compared to pre-fortification subjects...