Issue 111 Item 12 Postmenopausal Women Taking Folic Acid Reduce Risk of Heart Di

HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol, increased with the folic acid, while LDL, or ‘bad’ cholesterol, decreased with the folic acid. Dr. Giancarlo Paradisi, a researcher at Catholic University of Rome, Italy, presented the second study on the health of aging women. The Italian study found that postmenopausal women who take folic acid may reduce their risk of developing heart disease. Researchers studied 10 healthy postmenopausal women who were not taking hormone replacement therapy and found that one month of folic acid did not affect glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids and blood pressure.

“HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol, increased with the folic acid, while LDL, or ‘bad’ cholesterol, decreased with the folic acid,” noted Dr. Paradisi. “In addition, the endothelial function was markedly improved with the folic acid. These results show that folic acid may a safe and effective treatment for postmenopausal women. Larger and longer studies are now needed to confirm these results.” ENDO 2002