Folic acid can not only promote the growth and development of fetus, but also participate in the metabolism of homocysteine in the body. Homocysteine is a toxic amino acid, which can damage vascular endothelial cells, raise blood pressure, inhibit lipid metabolism, lead to vascular proliferation and promote thrombosis. The increase of homocysteine in blood is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which can significantly increase the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Therefore, folic acid is not only needed by pregnant women. Some elderly people with elevated blood homocysteine are accompanied by chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, which are high-risk groups of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke. Some elderly people who like drinking alcohol can cause gastrointestinal dysfunction and absorption disorders of B vitamins such as folic acid, resulting in insufficient intake of dietary folic acid and easy to induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. These elderly people should pay attention to folic acid supplementation.
The best way to supplement folic acid is food supplement. Foods rich in folic acid include animal livers, beans, cereals, nuts, citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit and lemons, and dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, rape, broccoli, lettuce and asparagus. These foods contain natural folic acid, but natural folic acid is unstable to light, heat and acidic solution and is easily destroyed during cooking and processing. Moreover, it is not easy to be absorbed by small intestine, and its bioavailability is only about 50%, so it is difficult to achieve the required supplementary dose. Synthetic folic acid has good stability, is not easy to be decomposed, and its bioavailability can reach 85% when mixed with diet, so it is a good folic acid supplement. It is suggested that the elderly should supplement 0.8mg folic acid every day and use vitamin B6 and B 12 together, which can further accelerate the metabolism of homocysteine and reduce the level of homocysteine in blood.
In a word, some research data show that hypertension with elevated homocysteine can increase the risk of stroke in men 1 1 times. Therefore, elderly men with homocysteine 10μmol/L need folic acid supplementation under the guidance of doctors, and it is recommended to take 0.8mg daily. In addition, elderly men with severe alcohol addiction will lead to insufficient dietary folic acid intake and need folic acid supplementation. Elderly men with hyperhomocysteinemia accompanied by hypertension and diabetes are high-risk groups of stroke, and folic acid supplementation can significantly reduce the incidence and mortality of stroke.
Whether the elderly need folic acid supplementation depends on the actual situation. Let me talk about those elderly people who need folic acid supplements and how to supplement them.
Many people know that pregnant women need folic acid supplements. This is because when the fetus is developing, if folic acid is lacking, neural tubes may be underdeveloped, leading to abnormal brain development and spina bifida after birth. Therefore, for women of childbearing age, doctors usually recommend folic acid supplementation during pregnancy to avoid fetal development defects.
Folic acid is actually a B vitamin, which plays an important role in cell division. Therefore, if the body lacks folic acid, it may affect growth and development. For example, the production of red blood cells may lead to severe anemia. Therefore, elderly patients with anemia should be properly supplemented with folic acid, but it should be noted that the deficiency of vitamin B 12 can also lead to anemia, and folic acid supplementation may cover up the deficiency of vitamin B 12, so it is necessary to check what causes anemia.
In addition, the current study found that folic acid supplementation is also beneficial to patients with H-type hypertension, which can reduce the incidence of stroke. What is H type hypertension? It is hypertension with hyperhomocysteinemia, which is very common in elderly patients with hypertension. Therefore, if elderly patients have hypertension, especially H-type hypertension, it is recommended to supplement folic acid clinically, generally 0.8mg at a time, up to 5mg.
Is folic acid a food supplement or a drug supplement? Generally speaking, vegetables, beans, whole grains and oranges with dark green leaves are rich in folic acid, but folic acid is water-soluble and easy to be lost after processing, so folic acid supplemented by food will not be sufficient. If there is a definite folic acid deficiency, you should take folic acid tablets to supplement it. If there are no obvious signs of folic acid deficiency, you can usually eat more foods rich in folic acid to ensure an adequate supply of folic acid in your body.
Do older men also need to take folic acid? What's the role? Folic acid belongs to B vitamins, also known as vitamin B 1 1. 194 1 was isolated and purified and named folic acid. Its chemical name is pteroyl glutamic acid (PGA). It was later proved that folic acid was effective in treating pernicious anemia. Lack of folic acid in human body can cause megaloblastic anemia and leukopenia.
Folic acid plays the role of coenzyme in many enzyme reactions in the body, so it is also called folic acid coenzyme. Folic acid (FA) is a kind of vitamin to maintain cell function, metabolism and growth, which is of great significance to the synthesis of nucleic acid and protein, the mutual transformation of amino acids, the synthesis of purine and the synthesis and metabolism of DNA. Lack of folic acid in human body can lead to diseases such as heart disease. Folic acid is closely related to homocysteine metabolism and has important biological significance for preventing cardiovascular diseases.
It has been reported that folic acid and vitamin B 12 are coenzymes in human nucleic acid metabolism, which play an important role in ensuring the structural and functional integrity of nerve cells. The deficiency of folic acid and vitamin B 12 can lead to the disorder of energy metabolism and protein synthesis of nerve cells, affect the formation of nerve myelin sheath, destroy the structure of normal membrane, promote the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle, increase platelet adhesion, form atherosclerosis, and lead to a series of clinical syndromes of nervous system damage such as cerebral infarction or cerebral hemorrhage. If foods rich in folic acid are added to the diet, homocysteine can be converted into methionine which is harmless to human body, and the risk of coronary heart disease can be reduced.
The study found that the minimum daily requirement of folic acid for adults is about 50 micrograms. Folic acid in food is actually about 25% to 50% effective. If the daily requirement of adults is 100 micrograms, then the supply should be above 400 micrograms. 1972 The relevant expert committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) also proposed 400 micrograms. Some scholars believe that the homocysteine level can be maintained in a safe range as long as 400 micrograms of folic acid is ingested every day.
In daily life, the elderly can also eat more foods rich in folic acid. Besides green leafy vegetables, foods rich in folic acid include carrots, egg yolks, apricots, pumpkins, beans and whole wheat flour. Developing organisms, such as pregnant women, nursing mothers and infants, have increased demand for folic acid, which is prone to folic acid deficiency. Some scholars believe that the visible symptoms of folic acid deficiency in human body are weakness, pallor, forgetfulness, insomnia and paroxysmal euphoria. At this time, the plasma folic acid level also changed, and the content per milliliter of plasma was less than 3 mg, which could be considered as deficiency.
It is beneficial for elderly men to supplement folic acid. A new study in the United States shows that moderate folic acid supplementation in elderly men can reduce the risk of hearing loss. Researchers such as Joseph Shargorodski in Boston, USA, found that if men over 60 take enough folic acid, the risk of hearing loss will be reduced by 20%, but vitamin C or vitamin E supplementation has no such effect. The researchers reached this conclusion by analyzing the data obtained from the national health survey. Researchers suggest that in order to prevent hearing loss, men over 60 should eat more folic acid-rich vegetables, such as spinach, asparagus, lettuce and various beans.
But it should be noted that folic acid is not as much as possible. The increase of folic acid intake may change human genes. Some scientists have pointed out that the practice of strengthening folic acid in food will generally increase the public's intake of folic acid, which may slowly change the genetic composition of human beings, thus leading to the weakening of the resistance of future generations to certain fatal diseases. Excessive folic acid intake will affect the body's absorption of vitamin B 12. For the elderly with vitamin B 12 deficiency, folic acid should not be taken too much. Especially in the case of adequate supply in the body, if a large amount of folic acid is ingested, the deficiency of vitamin B 12 in pernicious anemia will be covered up, and the initial symptoms of vitamin B 12 deficiency are not obvious until the later nerve is damaged, which will cause serious harm to health. It is particularly noteworthy that vitamin B 12 is not considered in many folic acid fortified foods on the market at present. Vitamin B 12 can reduce the occurrence of neural tube defects, but it will also increase the risk of vitamin b 12 deficiency and delay the treatment of diseases.
If the elderly choose folic acid products, it is best to consult a pharmacist or doctor.
Professional doctors will answer your questions. There are indeed some elderly people taking folic acid tablets in life, but not only men, but also women. Most elderly people who take folic acid tablets have sex, that is, they usually have high blood pressure. Why? Medically speaking, their hypertension belongs to H-type hypertension, that is, hypertension is accompanied by elevated homocysteine.
The biggest harm of hypertension lies in the damage to blood vessels, which is one of the main causes of vascular endothelial damage. On this basis, the fat in blood will enter the vascular endothelium from the damaged area and deposit, and after a series of inflammatory reactions, it will form atherosclerotic lipid, which will rupture the normal structure of blood vessels. This is the process of atherosclerosis. Where vascular diseases are concentrated, lipid substances gather to form plaques, which is the pathological basis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
The occurrence of hypertension will also cause a series of changes in physiological activities of the body. For example, when the human body decomposes methionine, it will produce a substance called homocysteine, which, like hypertension and hyperglycemia, will damage vascular endothelium and provide the possibility for the occurrence of atherosclerosis. Studies have confirmed that patients with hypertension are prone to folic acid deficiency, leading to excessive homocysteine production. Clinical statistics show that more than 75% people with hypertension will have this situation. This kind of hypertension is called H type hypertension.
Therefore, people with this type of hypertension should ensure that they take enough folic acid to avoid aggravating the damage to blood vessels due to the increase of homocysteine. Under normal circumstances, through a reasonable diet, such as eating more fresh vegetables, the body will not lack folic acid. However, due to the weakening of digestion and absorption function in old age, folic acid absorption is often insufficient, and extra folic acid is needed to meet the needs.
To sum up, patients with hypertension or the elderly should supplement folic acid to eliminate the damage of homocysteine to blood vessels. Usually, taking 0.8mg of folic acid tablets every day can meet the needs of interventional therapy, and it is not necessary to take more.
Speaking of folic acid, it is estimated that most people will think it is a medicine for pregnant women. Folic acid is actually a water-soluble B vitamin, and the demand for folic acid by pregnant women is four times that of normal people. The first trimester is the key period of fetal organ system differentiation and placenta formation, and cell growth and division are very vigorous. At this time, folic acid deficiency will lead to fetal malformation. Folic acid supplement is to prevent neurodevelopmental malformation, congenital heart disease and cleft lip and palate, so folic acid should be supplemented from the beginning of pregnancy.
Physiological function of folic acid
The human body itself cannot synthesize folic acid, and the folic acid that enters the body is reduced to tetrahydrofolic acid with physiological activity, which participates in the synthesis of purine and pyrimidine. Therefore, folic acid plays an important role in protein synthesis, cell division and growth, and promotes the formation of normal red blood cells. It also has the function of improving the immunity of the body.
Do older men also need folic acid supplements?
Based on the important physiological function of folic acid, taking folic acid in elderly men can prevent the occurrence of stroke to a certain extent and delay Alzheimer's disease. Old people are prone to forgetfulness and mental decline, and folic acid has a certain role in nourishing nerves. Moderate folic acid can not only reduce the damage of harmful substances in the body to cerebral vessels, but also help to alleviate the cognitive impairment caused by brain nerve injury and Alzheimer's disease.
In addition, homocysteine is recognized by more and more people, and it is an intermediate product produced in the process of human metabolism. Studies have shown that when the homocysteine content in the body increases, it will affect the antioxidant capacity of the human body and lead to vascular endothelial damage, which is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. We often say "three highs" (hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia), and homocysteine is considered to be the fourth highest. 75% of hypertension in China belongs to H-type hypertension, that is, hypertension with hyperhomocysteinemia. The increase of homocysteine is closely related to folic acid deficiency. Appropriate folic acid supplementation and the synergistic effect of vitamins B6, B 12 and folic acid in elderly men can transform homocysteine into glutathione and S- adenosylmethionine which are beneficial to human body.
Folic acid plays an important role in the formation of red blood cells and is one of the raw materials for hematopoiesis. Folic acid deficiency can cause megaloblastic anemia, manifested as pallor, listlessness, forgetfulness, insomnia, gastrointestinal dysfunction and other symptoms. For megaloblastic anemia caused by folic acid deficiency, vitamin B 12 and folic acid tablets should be supplemented.
Folic acid is widely found in various vegetables and fruits, especially cruciferous vegetables, citrus, beans and whole grains. If the diet structure is reasonable and the diet of elderly men is normal, folic acid can be supplemented through complementary food. However, the traditional cooking methods of frying and frying in China lead to the loss and inactivation of folic acid in vegetables, which makes the folic acid level of Chinese residents significantly lower than that of other countries. Therefore, it is necessary for elderly men, especially patients with hyperhomocysteinemia, to take folic acid properly. As for megaloblastic anemia, people need to take folic acid under the guidance of hematologists.
Folic acid does not mean that the larger the dose, the better. For patients who are taking anti-epileptic drugs such as phenobarbital and phenytoin sodium, attention should be paid to the possibility of inducing epilepsy when taking folic acid, and the dose of folic acid should be reduced. Oral folic acid can also affect the absorption of trace element zinc.
When it comes to folic acid, many people's first reaction is that pregnant women eat it. Folic acid, as a vitamin, is mainly used to prevent fetal malformation, but it is used not only by pregnant women, but also by elderly men.
Folic acid supplementation in pregnant women can prevent fetal nervous system malformations, such as anencephaly and spina bifida. In fact, folic acid also has a name called vitamin B9. If folic acid is lacking, megaloblastic anemia may also occur.
For elderly men, if hypertension is accompanied by hyperhomocysteinemia, folic acid should be supplemented to protect cerebral vessels and reduce the risk of stroke.
However, it should be noted that the amount of folic acid taken by elderly men is different from that taken by ordinary pregnant women during normal pregnancy. Under normal circumstances, we recommend that pregnant women supplement 0.4 mg, while the folic acid intake of elderly men is generally 0.8 mg, up to 5 mg.
In addition to oral folic acid tablets, many fresh fruits and vegetables also contain folic acid supplements, such as kiwi fruit, grapefruit and green leafy vegetables such as Chinese cabbage and spinach.
Folic acid supplementation is not a patent for pregnant women. Middle-aged and elderly people, both men and women, should pay attention to folic acid supplementation. Of course, whether to take supplements to supplement folic acid needs to be analyzed and confirmed in combination with specific circumstances.
Take you to know what folic acid is. It is a water-soluble B vitamin, which was first extracted from spinach leaves in 194 1 year. Therefore, it was named folic acid, which has been used ever since.
Many friends know that folic acid should be supplemented during pregnancy preparation and early pregnancy, because insufficient folic acid level of expectant mothers will increase the incidence of neural tube defects in newborns. Therefore, for female friends during pregnancy and early pregnancy, appropriate folic acid supplementation plays an important role in maintaining the normal development of the fetus.
However, folic acid, as a B vitamin, has more than just maintaining the normal development of the fetus. Folic acid is involved in many genetic materials of the body and the metabolic process of protein. If folic acid is lacking in the body, it will affect the immunity of the human body, affect the normal synthesis of blood cells and cause anemia. Some related diseases, such as chronic atrophic gastritis, colitis, coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, may be related to folic acid deficiency in the body.
The concept of "H-type hypertension" is put forward here. The so-called H-type hypertension refers to a kind of hypertension problem with high homocysteine in the blood. Homocysteine is an intermediate product of amino acid metabolism, which generally metabolizes rapidly in the body and maintains a very low concentration in the blood. However, if the metabolism of homocysteine is blocked due to genetic factors or other reasons, and the concentration in blood gradually increases, the problem of hyperhomocysteinemia will occur. If the concentration of homocysteine is higher than 10μmol/L, if it is accompanied by hypertension, it is called H-type hypertension.
The reason to check the homocysteine level in patients with hypertension is because the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in patients with H-type hypertension is higher than that in patients without H-type hypertension, and folic acid is an important catalyst for homocysteine metabolism. If folic acid is lacking in the body, homocysteine is more likely to rise, which will lead to an increase in the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Therefore, folic acid supplementation is not just a patent for pregnant women. We should pay attention to taking enough folic acid in our life, especially for middle-aged and elderly people who are at risk of cardiovascular diseases, so as to avoid increasing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases due to lack of folic acid.
How to correctly supplement folic acid Folic acid is not necessary to take supplements. In fact, if we pay attention to our health, we should supplement folic acid in our daily life. Foliage vegetables, many fruits, yeast, nuts, beans, cereals and other ingredients all contain folic acid, which means that if we can pay attention to maintaining a healthy diet structure and eating habits in our daily life, it is not suitable to eat too few fruits and vegetables.
For middle-aged and elderly men, there are two situations to consider taking supplements to supplement folic acid. One condition is H-type hypertension. It should be noted that folic acid deficiency is one of the reasons for the increase of homocysteine, but it is not the only factor. If the problem of high homocysteine concentration is found and folic acid deficiency is diagnosed, you can consider taking supplements to supplement folic acid. Generally, the recommended daily supplement dose is not more than 0.8mg, which may be determined according to physical deficiency. There is another case, intestinal absorption. In this case, the body may also have folic acid deficiency. For this kind of folic acid deficiency, we should not only increase folic acid supplementation, but also pay attention to the regulation and improvement of intestinal flora. We should try our best to improve intestinal absorption and strengthen folic acid absorption ability through healthy diet conditioning and nutritional supplementation, so as to better improve the problem of folic acid deficiency.
It should also be noted that folic acid supplementation should not be excessive. Although folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, it will not accumulate in the body, causing health hazards. However, it should be noted that long-term excessive folic acid supplementation may cover up the problem of vitamin B 12 deficiency in the body and cause anemia and nervous system damage caused by vitamin B 12 deficiency.
Therefore, folic acid should be supplemented, and daily food supplement is very important. If the body confirms that it is lacking or needs to be supplemented, then consider taking medicine to supplement it. Appropriate folic acid supplementation is beneficial to the body. Older men should also pay attention to folic acid supplementation, which is no problem and a very healthy choice.
Whether elderly men need to take folic acid depends on the situation. This paper expounds the problem from the following aspects: the function and principle of folic acid, under what circumstances do elderly men need to supplement folic acid and how to supplement it.
What is folic acid? Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, also known as pteroyl glutamic acid, which is one of the essential nutrients for human body and participates in many physiological activities such as genetic material and protein metabolism.
Role of folic acid: The most well-known role of folic acid is to prevent neonatal neural tube malformation, megaloblastic anemia, cleft lip and palate and other diseases. This is because folic acid is not only an essential element for DNA and cell division, but also involved in the synthesis of red blood cells. If it is lacking, it will easily affect the normal development of embryos and reduce the production of hemoglobin.
The significance of folic acid to the elderly: the survey shows that the proportion of folic acid deficiency among Chinese residents is as high as 20~60%, mostly middle-aged and elderly people. Elderly people who lack folic acid are prone to hyperhomocysteinemia, especially hypertensive patients, and 3/4 of them are complicated with elevated homocysteine. When the homocysteine level rises above 65,438+00 umol/L, it can also be called H-type hypertension, and the risk of stroke and death in patients with this kind of hypertension increases by about.
Here, even without hypertension, the simple increase of homocysteine will increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as arteriosclerosis. Folic acid supplementation can effectively reduce the level of homocysteine, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
How does folic acid achieve the effect of reducing homocysteine level?
Homocysteine is converted from methionine, which is widely found in our daily intake of protein. Homocysteine itself is not a bad thing. The human body can convert it into glutathione and methyl donor SAMe(S- adenosylmethionine) through metabolism. However, if the vitamin B family such as folic acid is insufficient, the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of homocysteine into the above substances will not work normally, so the homocysteine level in the body will rise to a dangerous level.
Do the elderly have to supplement folic acid? Actually, it is not. When we decide whether to supplement a nutrient, we should first judge whether we are deficient, and if so, whether we can take it from our diet first, and then consider nutritional supplement.
Therefore, whether elderly friends take folic acid depends on whether there is an increase in homocysteine level or H-type hypertension. Generally speaking, a homocysteine level exceeding 15umol/L can be diagnosed as hyperhomocysteinemia, and exceeding 10umol/L is a mild risk standard, and the recommended value is less than 6 umol/l. ..
How to supplement folic acid when homocysteine rises? Patients with H-type hypertension can use enalapril folic acid tablets to reduce blood pressure and homocysteine according to the doctor's advice (doctors must be consulted according to the situation), or choose natural folic acid supplements, the recommended dose is 0.8mg, or they can be used together with vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 * * *, and the effect will be more obvious and effective.
If only the homocysteine level rises, foods rich in folic acid and vitamin B can be given priority, such as amaranth, coriander, chrysanthemum, garlic sprout, spinach and other green leafy vegetables, while the contents of vitamin B6 and vitamin B 12 in meat, whole grains, beans and nuts are relatively high. How to adjust the diet after the effect is not ideal, you can consider adding extra folic acid.
Thank you for reading. I hope it helps you.
Do older men also need to take folic acid? What's the role?
When it comes to folic acid, many people first think that pregnant women need supplements, but do you know? Many middle-aged and elderly people also need folic acid supplementation, and elderly men are among them. So, why is this? On this issue, dr. zhang will tell you something.
The reason why elderly men need to eat folic acid is mainly because many elderly men have high blood pressure, and homocysteine can be seen to be elevated. Generally, it is considered to be elevated when it exceeds 15. In this way, these hypertensive patients with elevated homocysteine are called "H-type hypertension", and the probability of stroke in these patients is relatively high, mainly because of the lack of folic acid in the body. So, how to reduce the probability of stroke in such patients? Yes, besides taking antihypertensive drugs to control blood pressure, folic acid is also added.
There are two common ways to supplement folic acid:
The first is to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, which is a way to supplement folic acid through food. Because our country's eating habits are more fried and fried, this excessive cooking method makes a lot of folic acid lose, so I tell you to pay attention to eating more fresh fruits and vegetables here.
The second is to supplement folic acid by oral folic acid preparation. Folic acid tablets, for example, are the most commonly used drugs to supplement folic acid. At the same time, some multivitamins also contain folic acid. This method of folic acid supplementation is relatively direct and suitable for many patients with "H-type hypertension".
Many patients with H-type hypertension, many of whom are elderly men, also need folic acid supplementation, so many doctors will also advise elderly men to take folic acid orally. Sometimes people wonder, isn't folic acid for pregnant women? That's why older men eat it.
More people hear about folic acid, or because pregnant women need to supplement folic acid!
Because if pregnant women lack folic acid, it may lead to cleft lip and palate. Before that, about 40,000 to 50,000 children with cleft lip and palate were born every year in China. It was later proved that folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy could prevent the birth of children with cleft lip and palate. 1995, China advocates that women who are ready to give birth take folic acid supplements. In 2000, the Nutrition Society of China suggested that the recommended intake of folic acid in the daily diet of women of childbearing age should be 400 micrograms, and that of pregnant women at all stages should be 600 micrograms per day.
Then this folic acid gives more people the impression that pregnant women have taken a drug that can prevent cleft lip and palate, which is beyond doubt. But folic acid does more than that. What is the connection between folic acid and elderly men?
Folic acid and elderly men;
We all know that we are a big country with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and the number of hypertension has reached about 300 million. Especially with the increase of age, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases become more frequent.
The average level of homocysteine in fasting blood of healthy adults is 5-15um/L. When the homocysteine level is15um/L (the latest suggestion is10um/L), it belongs to hyperhomocysteinemia.
China hypertension guidelines point out that hyperhomocysteinemia in the blood will increase the risk of stroke. In adult hypertensive patients in China, there is an increase of homocysteine at the same time, and the probability of wind-induced hypertension is five times that of simple ordinary hypertension. At the same time, it will greatly increase the risk of coronary heart disease and peripheral vascular disease.
Studies have shown that homocysteine can lead to oxidative stress, atherosclerosis, endothelial cell damage and so on. It is found that the coexistence of homocysteine and angiotensin will aggravate intimal injury, and folic acid intake can alleviate this symptom; Hyperhomocysteine is also an independent cardiovascular risk factor, which increases the risk of hypertension by three times. Compared with the normal population, the stroke risk of hypertension with hyperhomocysteinemia is increased 12. 1 fold. Epidemiological studies show that every 5? Mole/liter stroke risk increased by 59%.
One of the main reasons for the increase of homocysteine is the lack of folic acid.
In other words, folic acid deficiency may lead to hyperhomocysteinemia; Because hyperhomocysteinemia may lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, especially the risk of cerebral infarction!
Older men themselves are high-risk groups of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and cerebral infarction. Talk about these high-risk groups, if they also lack folic acid, leading to hyperhomocysteinemia. If folic acid is not supplemented, hyperhomocysteinemia will not be improved, which does not mean that it will make matters worse, and it will also increase the risk of myocardial infarction in elderly men.
How to supplement folic acid:
In fact, for many people, folic acid supplementation does not mean eating folic acid tablets. Our common food contains a lot of folic acid. Most fruits and vegetables and coarse grains contain folic acid, including lettuce, spinach, vegetables, lentils, pods, tomatoes, carrots, pumpkins, mushrooms, rapeseed, Chinese cabbage, kiwi fruit, apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, strawberries and cherries. Whole wheat flour, oats, rice bran, brown rice, beans, nuts, etc.
As long as we can eat a healthy diet, eat more fruits, vegetables and coarse grains, eat a comprehensive diet and eat more foods, then we can supplement folic acid that our bodies need.
Is it necessary to eat folic acid tablets?
For hypertensive patients, if they can eat a healthy and comprehensive diet, but the average level of homocysteine when they go to the hospital for blood test is 10um/L, then hyperhomocysteinemia should be considered and folic acid should be supplemented. The guidelines suggest that folic acid supplementation can reduce the plasma homocysteine concentration and reduce the risk of stroke. The recommended daily folic acid supplement is 0.8 mg.
Folate is generally deficient in China, and 75% of hypertension is accompanied by hyperhomocysteinemia, that is, 3 out of every 4 hypertensive patients are hyperhomocysteinemia. These factors are the reasons for the high incidence of stroke in China.
If you are hypertensive, whether you are an elderly man or not, it is recommended to check your blood homocysteine, if it is greater than 10? Mol/L is hyperhomocysteinemia, and folic acid needs to be supplemented.