Pasta and folic acid

[Guest guest]

This was posted on another list so thought i'd pass it on. Apologies

for cross posting if you've already read it!

 

laura x

 

Who Knew Pasta Could Do THIS?

> Folic acid--a main ingredient in fortified pasta--may RESTORE

> artery

> health. People who eat a diet rich in folic acid or take folic acid

> supplements may find this B vitamin actually clears out their

> arteries,

> which will reduce the risk of suffering a deadly heart attack or

> stroke,

> according to researchers from Wales Hospital in Hong Kong.

> How much folic acid do you need? Find out here.

> Previous studies have shown that folic acid can lower homocysteine

> levels--an amino acid that is associated with an increased risk of

> heart

> disease and stroke--over eight weeks. But what effect would folic

> acid

> have over an entire year? That is the question the Hong Kong team

> wanted

> to answer.

> This food that is rich in folic acid can also help ward off

> blindness.

> Click to find out what it is.

> The results of their small study: When 29 healthy men and women who

> had

> high homocysteine levels were given folic acid for one year, their

> homocysteine levels were reduced on average 12 percent. Even more

> telling, the thin layer of cells that line the arteries, which

> allow

> blood vessels to expand as needed, was improved. Foods rich in

> folic acid

> include fortified pasta, bread, white rice, and cereals, as well as

> lentils, spinach, asparagus, orange juice, chickpeas, and kidney

> beans.

> The study results were published in The American Journal of

> Medicine.

> Can food cure what ails you? These 10 foods not only taste good;

> they

> also pack a wallop!