SS:  Why do you think that cancer risk increases when there is more folic acid available in the body? This is so contrary to what we have been told before!
CP:  You can think of folic acid like a fertilizer in a garden of cells, which supports the growth of normal cells as well as cancer cells.  It actually supports the making of DNA in any new cell.
            The problem arises when you throw excess fertilizer in a garden that has weeds, because it may help the weeds grow faster than the plants.  It is believed that the downside of excess folic acid may be that it makes it too easy for cancer cells to grow fast, and it makes it that much harder for the immune system to destroy them.  Our immune system is like a gardener trying to pluck these cancer weeds out, but it cannot keep up if too much fertilizer is thrown on the garden too frequently.
            So folic acid or folates excess do not cause the start of cancer per se, for sure, but it may support cancer to grow faster in a body that has excess folic acid or excess folates available.  On the other hand, folate deficiency can cause cancerous cells to appear, because every new cell formed needs adequate folate around it to make its DNA accurate, without errors or mutations.

SS:  How much folic acid is too much?
CP:  Studies started using larger and larger doses of folic acid, as high as 5 milligrams, with clear benefits for cardiovascular disease.  However, recent studies support evidence that daily doses of folic acid above 200 to 400 micrograms ingested at any one time may be improperly metabolized and absorbed in the bloodstream, causing people to end up with folic acid in the bloodstream.  That is not a natural situation.  This does not happen when one takes in natural folates from fruits, vegetables, or supplements that contain the natural forms of folates.  So now we need to take another look at which forms of folates one uses and revise the recommended doses.  This is especially important because folic acid is used to fortify flour and some people’s diets are composed of a large number of those products:  cereals, breads, and pasta.  Many researchers believe at this time that excess intake of folic acid, specifically in the synthetic form, may increase the risk of polyps and colon cancer, and as I said, other cancers may be stimulated as well.

SS:  Can we measure blood levels of folic acid or folate so we can find out what our status is, since this can influence our risk of cancer?
CP:  What we should measure, for an adequate estimate of folate status, are the RBC (red blood cell) levels of the natural folate 5-MTHF, which is the preferred natural form of folate that circulates in the blood.  This test is available through most common labs.  You do not want to be too low or too high in RBC folate, because at both ends the risk of cancer may be increased for different reasons.
As for folic acid, we would hope that we have undetectable levels of folic acid in the bloodstream.  To ensure that this is the case, it would be good to look for a multivitamin that contains natural folates, but if it contains folic acid, do not take in more than 200 micrograms at a time.  As far as foods go, it would be best to get natural folates from fruits and vegetables, not folic acid from refined flour products.

SS:  Don’t they say not to take folic acid when undergoing chemotherapy?
CP:  Yes, for certain chemo agents like methotrexate.  It’s interesting, because that drug is trying to block the activation of folic acid on the path to making DNA.  Cancer cells that multiply fast need DNA, so the drug tries to stop them by cutting off some supplies.  What’s interesting to me is that some studies have used methotrexate and the natural folate called folinic acid, and they worked great in reducing some side effects of the chemotherapy.  Some of them even showed that it made chemotherapy more effective at killing cancer cells.

SS:  So copy nature as much as we can in our everyday actions-the way we eat and the way we supplement?
CP:  Yes, pay attention to how nature does things, as that is what fits our bodies the best.  But sometimes we have to trick nature a bit, too, if we want maximum vitality past our prime reproductive age.  We have to supplement with higher doses of nutrients when we need to compensate for some effects of age related changes, genetics, or environmental challenges.  For example researchers are suggesting we take resveratrol in relatively higher doses than found in any natural food, because we are impressed with its potential benefits for longevity and reducing cancer risk.

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