Why would anyone be 'vehemently' against adding folic acid to flour?

[VladmirsPoutine]

Even if you don't take issue with it, what reasonable argument could someone who opposes it make?

The story I read briefly outlines possible 'concerns' about it but on balance the government's independent advisory body have said it's a positive, beneficial forward step in improving health outcomes.

I don't think suggesting that it would be another case of 'nanny-statism' is a valid counter-argument. But following a discussion earlier at work, I did wonder what about it could anyone reasonably oppose so indignantly.

Article link here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45942507

I oppose it because I prefer my basic foodstuffs to be basic not augmented.

If it's such a good thing, why is it not being done already? Perhaps because people simply do not want altered foods. If, with clear labelling, I was avaioable then of course I don't mind. But I do not want to be compelled to eat augmented food which I do not want to consume.

There's a whole load of nonsense promoted by anti-vaxxers about how folic acid actually causes north defects and people should only take naturally occurring folate.

They're the only people I've seen oppose it.

Check out the batshittery that is the Arnica Facebook page for more info!

North = birth. I'm having a bad day for typos

Folic acid AFAIK isn't water soluble therefore builds up in the body. I remember in my last pregnancy reading an article about the prolonged intake of folic acid and the lack of research into the effects this could have.

I heard there's a link between prolonged use of folic acid and tongue tie.

But I had a 2 second look online for some journal articles on this and I couldn't see anyway. I didn't look very well though I must admit.

However, I'm all for folic acid in bread. If I don't fancy it, I would just buy freshly made bread.
It won't all contain it. It will just be all the mass produced bread that's stacked up.

I don’t know why anyone would oppose it. It’s common in other countries

All UK milled white flour is already fortified with calcium, niacin and thiamine. Can't see why you wouldn't add folic acid too if there's compelling evidence that it's a good thing.

It's not like flour/bread etc doesn't already have a load of other important vitamins added on government orders. I'm FIRMLY in the add it brigade, and haven't heard any argument against which I can give time of day.

Seems a no brainer to me too. It can prevent an awful lot of neural tube defects like Spinabifida. Who wouldn't want to prevent something like that happening to their baby.

I oppose it because I prefer my basic foodstuffs to be basic not augmented.

But many of your 'basic foodstuffs' are already augmented

Folic acid isn’t quite the same as folate (which is the natural form, found in food). This article explains the differences, and raises some associated risks of the synthetic form.

chriskresser.com/folate-vs-folic-acid/

It’s fair to question any unintended consequences of fortification, despite the benefits

I've had.a (very mild) allergic reaction to folic acid, admittedly it could have been the filler but I'd rather have a choice about it.

Apparently high Folate/Folic Acid can mask a B12 deficiency, & B12 deficiency can be serious if not treat. That's why adding it to flour etc isn't a good idea

Adding it to flour really isn’t going to give you high levels. You can’t get anywhere near high levels with food

Folic acid is water soluable. As are all the B vitamin.
A tiny bit in bread won’t make much of a difference. But it will be good for pregnant women.
I think there should be vitamin d added to other foods too since the UK seems to be so poorly supplemented with this vitamin and there is a strong link with low vit d levels during pregnancy and subsequent MS. Among other things.

I have a nutrition degree and work in research for the NHS. It’s due to the B12 deficiency that it masks, making it very difficult to diagnose and thus making it worse by the time doctors find it.

B12 deficiency is already extremely common but in severe cases leads to subacute degeneration of the spinal cord; I’ve seen people unable to walk in the most serious cases.

Folic acid is well known for reducing the likelihood of NTDs in pregnancy and wales and Ireland (I believe) have the highest rates in the world. England is also high.

I do think folic acid should be in bread however i understand the debate and know why it hasn’t been done before, it’s not as black and white as fortified folate bread > non fortified bread.

As a final note, no gluten free bread or flour is ever fortified with anything currently. It’s never included in the guidelines and therefore the companies see it as extra costs and don’t do it. So people with coeliacs disease not only suffer with more vitamin deficiencies than the general population due to poor absorption but also suffer by having no fortified foods available! Last time I checked the cereals weren’t fortified either, a major source of many vitamins. Just a thought

I don’t particularly like that I can’t choose food without additives even if those additives aren’t harmful. I understand why it is done. The welfare state serves the bottom denominator and said bottom denominator will cost the state even more if they don’t feed themselves properly. The bottom denominator, being the bottom denominator obviously can’t be trusted to do anything they should do so the government benovalentlg steps in to con them into nourishing themselves. Just annoyed that I don’t get the option to choose because of what other people fail to do.

It’s not the bottom denominator you don’t get enough folic acid through your diet (or vit D) either racecar

If you eat a diet high in vegetables, beans, lentils and seeds you will get adequate folate. One reason for not adding is the likely increase in cancer. In Canada and USA where they already do fortification "Researchers at Tufts University, working with large population-based cancer registries, studied trends in colorectal cancer from 1986 to 2002 in the United States and Canada. The results, published in the July 2007 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, showed a 15-year decline that was suddenly reversed in the early fortification years, when average blood levels of folate doubled. As a result, an extra four to six cases of colorectal cancer per 100,000 people per year — a total of 16,500 extra cases — were estimated to have occurred." Anyone see the recent Horizon program about taking supplements (still on iplayer). The shocking finding on that program was that studies show that taking supplements tend increased mortality not reduce it.

www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/the-ups-and-downs-of-folic-acid-fortification

I oppose it because I prefer my basic foodstuffs to be basic not augmented
This. Although as long as labelling is clear and it's not all flour, it is acceptable. I don't want fluoride in water either!

Could the general public not take responsibility for their own health?
Take vitamins/suplements to reduce/eliminate deficiencies instead of adding to food?

Well that was a thread ender.

There was a 'blip' at about the time that fortification was started; when this was looked at, it turns out a new screening programme was being offered which picked up more than usual numbers of new cancers. Since this, the rate has continued to go down, and is quite a bit lower than before fortification. The Harvard article also says rates of death from stroke went down four times faster in the US after fortification than it did in England and Wales. Sounds good to me

I always wonder about the effectiveness of adding folic acid to flour when so many people avoid eating bread and flour anyway.