From Dec '26 folic acid is to be added into flour but for some people it could cause severe side effects if they take it. Should there be more debate before we change what we eat forever?

[snowbear22]

Chris Wittey on behalf of the WHO has directed that folic acid will be added to all flour in the UK from this December. Dr Clair Craig is running a campaign against this and is attempting to get a parliament to debate it before mandating folic acid in food.

I'm basing this mainly on her interview on this social media clip and I am not a doctor or involved in the NHS, I would love to hear more of the case for Folic acid in food as I'm sure a lot of medical professionals know a lot more about this than me.
These are the arguments for and against:
Pro's:

1. 200 babies a year can possibly be saved from neural tube defect which is mostly spina bifida.
2. The USA added floic acid to the flour supply and has less spina bifida cases.

Dr Clair Craig arguments against:
1.There are groups of people that should avoid using folic acid- people with cancer because it drives cell replication, people with heart stents as it can cause a stent to re-block and people with undiagnosed B12 deficiency ( around 6,000) as it can cause severe neurological damage. It will be in all flours, even gluten free flour.

2.WHO themselves say that the evidence of helping unborn children is not that strong -it was based on one single trial which gave the control, (placibo group) manganese which can be neurotoxic- and 6 of the control group developed neural tube defects and the control group developed none. The study was deemed unethical after that and never replicated and so all policy is based on that one study.

3.Folic acid is a drug, a synthetic chemical, it is a different molecule to folate- vitamine B9 which you would find in real food such as broccolli, it breaks down differently in the body.

4.Mass medication with no consultation is wrong inherently, it is Government overreach, you should not be mandated by government to take something that you do not consent to, and it is a slippery slope and it is unprecidented that a change that affects so many people has not been allowed any debate in Parliament.

YANBU - Not convinced of the overall good to society if it causes harm to some groups and there should definately be more debate before implementation.

YABU- it would save 200 babies a year from spina biifida and it is overall a good thing.

It's also essential for cognitive function. That could be very useful for some.

If you eat green veg, cereal, pulses, supermarket bread and/or eggs you’re already eating folic acid.
putting fluoride in our water has done wonders for our dental health so I’m not averse to flour fortified with vitamin B9 if it makes my cakes healthier!

I thought they were doing this already tbh, but it turns out that was cereal.

@KnickerlessParsons sadly there are still loads of areas where they don't put fluoride in the water. I wish they did it where I live.

It’s the cumulative dosage of folic acid. It’s a bit like if you eat too much salt that can have serious consequences for your health. If folic acid is added to all flour milled and imported when it is already added to so many other foods like cereals, that in turn increases everyone’s total intake of folic acid, which means higher risk of ingesting too much. Imagine if salt were added to everything,…can you understand now?

Actually you’re eating folate. Folic acid is a synthetic nutrient.

I can totally understand, but it has been judged to be safe by the WHO and the person questioning it in the OP is a lone quack.
That would seem to indicate that substantially more people are at risk of severe harm from neural tube defects than from overdosing on folic acid.

Hasn't folic acid been added to bread since forever?

My understanding is that the concern is that for some people, synthetic folic acid can block folate receptors, which makes the person unable to properly use other types of folate eg folinic acid, which is naturally occurring in food. I have come across a number of people who react badly to synthetic folic acid but not folic acid or methylfolate. It will be difficult for them if all flour has to be fortified.