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Epilogue: Food for Thought on Folic Acid^1,2,

Departments of Medicine and Community Health, Schools of Medicine and Nutrition, Tufts University, Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, and New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111

³ To whom correspondence should be addressed: New England Medical Center, 750 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111.

This Ceres Forum provided plenty of food for thought on the use and regulation of health claims. Scientists and policy makers must resolve them to formulate a sensible policy on fortification and to communicate information on diet-disease relation ships.

Folic acid-disease interrelationships

Fortification and health claims policies are needed only if a nutrient can prevent or lessen specific diseases. We know that inadequate intakes of folic acid cause deficiency diseases and risks of neural tube defects. They also probably alter cardiovascular disease risk, and excessive intakes may mask the hematologic signs of vitamin B-12 deficiency (Bell et al. 1992, Boushey et al. 1995, Friedman and Dwyer 1995, Kornel 1990, Selhub et al. 1993, Seihub et al. 1995).

From the policy perspective, many difficult questions remain. Folic acid-related health risks depend on both the distribution of intakes in the population and the prevalence of the health problem. More information is needed

² Funded at least in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service under contract number 53-3K06-01. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.