Why folic acid can be BAD for the elderly

TWELVE years after experts recommended the addition of folic acid (vitamin B9) to flour to help reduce the rates of spina bifida in unborn babies, the Government has agreed to a consultation on the issue.

The proposed plan is to add folic acid to all flour — except wholemeal — at the milling stage, so we have little option but to buy fortified bread. So what, you may ask? Surely, saving a child from disability is a price worth paying.

Unfortunately, the initiative may have a potentially catastrophic effect on older people, but I have yet to hear anyone voice concern.

For there is another vital B vitamin we must consider: B12 is essential for several physiological processes, especially the functioning of the nervous system. Along with folic acid, it is also vital for the production of blood cells.

B12 is found in fish, meat, poultry and dairy products, and is absorbed from the gut. However, as people age, their bodies becomes less efficient at absorbing it, and it’s common for the elderly to be deficient.

The first sign is anaemia, but if left untreated, devastating damage to the nervous system can result. It’s complicated but, put simply, mass supplementation of our diets with folic acid would benefit the elderly who have anaemia — but it would also mask a B12 deficiency.

While there’s support for adding folic acid to flour to protect unborn babies, old people are, in effect, being discriminated against. It’s a complex moral dilemma and we should at least be talking about it.