Folate supplements reduce women's risk of high blood pressure

Citation

(2005), "Folate supplements reduce women's risk of high blood pressure", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 35 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2005.01735dab.007

Folate supplements reduce women's risk of high blood pressure

Folate supplements reduce women's risk of high blood pressure

Women who take folate supplements have been found to reduce their risk of developing high blood pressure, according to the latest analysis of data from the Nurses Health Study, one of the largest long-term health studies in the US. Young women benefit most but folate also helps older women to control their blood pressure levels.

High blood pressure significantly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Because it is symptomless, people only discover they have a problem when their blood pressure is measured.

Most women who take folate supplements do so to cut the risk of having a baby with spina bifida. But, according to a report by lead researcher Dr John P Forman of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston USA to the American Heart Association's 58th Annual High Blood Pressure Research Conference in Chicago, young women who consume more than 800 g per day of folate cut their risk of developing high blood pressure by almost a third (29 per cent) compared to those whose intake is less than 200 g.

Older women, whose total intake of folate was 800 g per day, have a 13 per cent lower risk than those in their age group whose intake was less than 200 g. The researchers used data from around 155,000 women aged 26-46 and 43-70, none of whom had raised blood pressure when the study started eight years earlier.

Folate is a vitamin found in citrus fruits, leafy vegetables, beans and wholegrain cereal. Dr Forman told the conference that it is very hard to get 800 g per day from diet alone. All the women in the highest category took supplements.

Estroven – a nutritional supplement from Wassen formulated to help maintain a woman's wellbeing before, during, and after the menopause – contains 400 g of folic acid. This one a day caplet combines 55 mg of plant isoflavones with six other vitamins and three minerals. They work together synergetically and contribute to ensuring hormonal wellbeing for women through an important period of change in their lives.

For more information contact Wassen's nutrition adviser at vitamins@wassen.com, visit their website at www.wassen.com or visit the Natural Menopause Advice Service (NMAS) website at www.nmas.org.uk