Your body needs folic acid, also called folate, to produce and maintain cells, including red blood cells. It helps to prevent changes to DNA that may lead to cancer, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. Folic acid supplements also may offer some benefits for your liver. Always consult a health care provider before starting a new supplement, especially if you are attempting to boost liver health.
Hepatitis
Consuming folic acid may reduce your risk for liver damage, including liver cancer, if you suffer from hepatitis B, according to Tania M. Welzel, lead author for a study published in "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention." Welzel studied 415 people with hepatitis for four years and found that people who had higher folic acid levels in their blood suffered less damage to their livers.
Alcoholic Liver Disease
Taking folic acid may reduce your risk for liver damage associated with alcoholic liver disease, according to Charles H. Halsted, lead author for a study published in the journal, "Alcohol." Lack of folic acid is linked to liver injury due to a hampered ability to mobilize the essential amino acid methionin, which your liver needs for normal metabolism and fat lipid oxidation. Consuming enough folic acid protects against methionine cycle--mediated alcoholic liver disease, Halsted says.
Anemia Related to Liver Damage
Taking folic acid can help alcoholics who have liver damage avoid anemia, according to the National Research Council Committee on Diet and Health. People who have liver damage do not retain folate well in the liver, which is where your body stores excess folic acid. This, coupled with inadequate intake of the vitamin, can cause megalobastic anemia. In this type of anemia, DNA synthesis during red blood cell production is impaired. This defective DNA synthesis also may be caused by vitamin B12 deficiency, according to Melanie Huff of Mississippi College.
References
- "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention"; Blood Folate Levels and Risk of Liver Damage and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Prospective High-Risk Cohort; Tania M. Welzel et al.; 2007
- "Diet and Health"; National Research Council Committee on Diet and Health; 1989
- Mississippi College: Anemia; Melanie Huff
- "Alcohol"; Folate deficiency, methionine metabolism, and alcoholic liver disease; Charles H. Halsted et al.; 2002
- The Free Dictionary: Methionine
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Folate
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