In the popular media and even some health media folic acid is treated as being equivalent to folate.   Results from recent research show that folate is not interchangeable with folic acid in terms of health benefits for folks and this is especially applicable to seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health.   It turns out that folic acid is actually an oxidized vitamin that can initiate cognitive decline in some seniors.  It can can raise the risk of some cancers such as colon and rectal and can also speed up the growth of existing cancers.  By way of contrast the folates are found in green and leafy vegetables such as asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach, romaine, and lettuce.   No folic acid is found in any of these foods, because folic acid is a single molecule that was crystalized back in the 1940’s by a patent medicine company.

Folic acid is a relatively stable and patentable substance that is low cost compared with folate which has a very short shelf life, is expensive and can not be patented.  Back in the 1940’s companies chose to promote folic acid over folate for the above reasons.  For younger folks folic acid can be a healthy supplement, because their bodies can convert it into the folates that their bodies need.  For older folks such as seniors it turns out that their bodies can not convert folic acid into folates very efficiently.  Current research has uncovered cases of cognitive decline in seniors that appears to be due to supplementing with folic acid instead of folate.  This is good news for seniors who are concerned about seeking preemptive aging information, in order to promote their senior health.