29th June 2024
Folic acid is something that we all need to know about. Many countries have mandatory “fortification” programs and most of us ingest it without too much thought. It has been presented by the World Health Organisation and their associates as a “win-win” for the public due to the purported prevention of neural tube defects such as spina bifida.
This video investigates some of the pivotal papers that were used as the evidence for folic acid supplementation for pregnant women and then entire populations. We examine what the real world data shows and why some of the numbers do not stack up.
Additionally, the folic acid they are putting in these products is not the same as the folate that has been depleted from our food in the first place. What are the implications of constant exposure to synthetic compounds and what can you do to remedy the situation today?
References
- “Spina Bifida”, Wikipedia (accessed 21 Jun 2024)
- “ACOG practice bulletin. Neural tube defects. Number 44, July 2003”, International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 18 Sep 2003
- “Jim West: The Toxicology Taboo”, Dr Sam Bailey, 29 Oct 2022
- “Toxicology vs Virology”, Dr Sam Bailey, 15 Oct 2022
- “Current Status of Teratology” in Handbook of Teratology, 1977
- “Safe and Effective, Then and Now”, Dr Sam Bailey, 4 Aug 2021
- “Describing the Prevalence of Neural Tube Defects Worldwide: A Systematic Literature Review” PLOS One, 11 Apr 2016
- “Prevention of neural tube defects: Results of the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study”, Lancet, 20 Jul 1991
- “Prevention of the First Occurrence of Neural-Tube Defects by Periconceptional Vitamin Supplementation”, New England Journal of Medicine, 24 Dec 1992
- “Anti-Fertility Vaccines and Population Control”, Dr Sam Bailey, 5 Jan 2022
- “Updated Estimates of Neural Tube Defects Prevented by Mandatory Folic Acid Fortification — United States, 1995–2011”, CDC – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 16 Jan 2015
- “Gallery of Graphs”, Jordan Henderson, 6 Feb 2024
- “Epidemiology of neural tube defects”, Saudi Medical Journal, 2014
- “FOLIC ACID” PubChem – Hazardous Substances Data Bank
- “Contemporary Issues Surrounding Folic Acid Fortification Initiatives”, Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, 31 Dec 2014
- Global Fortification Data Exchange
- “How Do I Get Folic Acid Out Of My Body?”, Seeking Health, 23 Jun 2021
- Milmore Downs – Organic Flour NZ
good food is the only medicine
Great video! In addition to the difference between folate and folic acid, there’s also the epigenetic issue of the body’s ability to take either to the final metabolite. It has been hypothesized that perhaps 40% of the populations in first-world countries have lost the ability to produce the 5-methyl tetrahydrafolate reductase enzyme due to the very dietary habits warned against in the video. For that 40%, the availability of methyl donors in the body may be a moot point and/or identify an additional pathway for remedy. I’ll be look with great interest at the details behind your suggestion that folic acid in the blood is a problem, as well as methods of clearing same.
Lovely and informative! I was fond of the “Filicine” Folic Acid 5 mg pills by Big Farma, until now. Thanks for the presentation.
Have so much respect for the Bailey’s!! Thank you 😊🙏🏼
A great podcast with a Dr. Tatum Toner can provide further insight to what Sam has just shared – The Way Forward on Spotify – Ep 98 Folic Acid fortification and the rise in chronic illness. The manner in which fortification was agreed to and the impacts on health is both disturbing and outrageous.
Dr Toner is a medical doctor that has also now transitioned to a terrain-based medical approach.
Key podcast discussion points include:
Research and Evidence: Detailed statistics and studies supporting Dr Toner’s claims about the impact of folic acid fortification.
Body’s Response to Methylfolate: What happens when methylfolate enters the body and its benefits.
Eliminating Folic Acid: The importance of cutting out folic acid from your diet and how it can positively impact your life.
Podcast time stamps:
36:00 – Fortifying Food With Chemicals
40:58 – Operating in Coherence vs Toxins with Introduction Folic Acid
53:10 – Turning Off Detox Pathway
57:15 – How to Counteract Folic Acid and Chronic Illness
Thanks!, I am amazed at how much there is to learn about our “modern” food supply’s lack of nutritional value. This has been another very informative presentation. I had not even considered why folic acid is in our food in the first place; now I know why and can now make more informed choices.
Thank you very much Dr Sam great information.
In the UK, one way around avoiding ALL the additives in flour is to buy bread manufactured overseas (not just the flour). I emailed the company; Crosta and Mollica, that makes bread in Italy and they assured me nothing was added. That was a few years ago so whether they have changed since one would need to double check.
Very good video. I love Dr Bailey’s deep dives into these issues and I sha re them with my clinic clients.
There is growing evidence of folic acid and their metabolite toxicity in research on animals. I would have loved Dr Bailey to habe touched on these as well.
I’d also love to see a video on the recommendation to reduce vitamin a in pregnancy, based on questionable research on synthetic vit a supplementation, and how this global recommendation has negatively affected pregnancies and children’s health.
What women need is meat, eggs, animal fat and dairy if they support.
Anything else is a joke, along with 99% of all supplements.
I recommend baking your own bread using your own home-made live yeast culture (aka “sour dough starter”) at home using a decent quality, preferably organic flour. I do this on a regular basis, and as long as you don’t follow the high-hydration recipes found in nearly all youtube videos, it takes less time than people might imagine (the dough also works great for baking pizzas, “focaccia”, etc).
In the EU getting a hold of decent quality flour should hardly be an insurmountable task, but I was quite shocked to see from the map that most of South America has adopted mandated folic acid fortification programmes. The stuff sold in the US that passes off as “bread” is a joke (I say this from experience); anyone eating that on a daily basis is literally poisoning themselves. One of the commonly used, ahem, “ingredients” found on the soft-style bread sold in places like Cost-Co, Walmart, etc is ammonium chloride. That’s actually one of the “bench top” chemicals I used to use on a regularly basis during my days working in an organic chemistry lab in order to “work-up” reaction (mild acid to neutralise basic solutions), and yet they think fit to add this to so called “bread” for human consumption, lol.