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Consuming more than 800 micrograms of folate per day can reduce the risk of high blood pressure in women, according to a study presented October 11 at the American Heart Association’s annual high blood pressure research conference in Chicago.
Folate is a B-vitamin found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables, beans and grains. Since January 1998, wheat flour has been fortified with folic acid, the synthetic form of folate, to add an estimated 100 micrograms per day to the average diet, according to the American Heart Association.
Researchers divided more than 150,000 women into groups based on age and level of folate consumption to determine if there was a link between risk of high blood pressure and their level of folate intake, including supplements.
Older women between the ages of 43 and 70 who had total folate intake of 800 micrograms per day had a 13 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure than those who consumed less than 200 micrograms each day.
The most dramatic effects were seen in younger women between the ages of 26 and 46 years as those consuming more than 800 micrograms of folate a day had a 29 percent lower risk than those consuming 200 micrograms a day.
Folate has been shown to reduce levels of homocysteine, a blood component that can damage blood vessels. Folate may also help blood vessels relax, improving blood flow, said study author John P. Forman, M.D., research and clinical fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The benefit of folate was independent of other factors such as exercise, salt intake and diet, which are known to influence risk of high blood pressure, according to the study.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of October 16, 2004
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