The Importance of avoiding Folic Acid & TH1 inflammation

[Guest guest]

Found this article in a rather interesting website

here:http://www.marshallprotocol.com/forum2/4062.html

Its called the " marshall protocol " . Contradicts a lot of what we do

with our children in terms of supplementing.

anyone want to have a go at interpreting this? It also has articles

about avoiding extra vitamin D causing more inflammation

particularly for TH1 problems.

more confusion!!

The Importance of Avoiding Supplemental Folic Acid

" Your body needs Folic Acid to manufacture DHFR, which allows your

own body to produce the nucleic acids essential for life. The

problem is that if you get too much DHFR it seems to become useful

to the bacteria as well.

....You get enough Folic Acid out of a healthy diet. Stay away from

supplements, including white flour, white bread and baked goods,

until you conquer this disease. "

Folic Acid is turned by the body into DHFR (DiHydro-Folate

Reductase) which can be used by parasitic bacteria to form the

Nucleic Acids which are at the basis of their survival and

reproductive cycles.

Although the literature is equivocal on the issue of whether Folic

Acid is harmful in these Th1 diseases, we found with the Sarcoidosis

cohort that Folic Acid makes them more ill. "

Dr. Trevor Marshall, PhD

................

" Folic acid is contraindicated for patients with Th1 inflammation.

Here is why. Th1 inflammatory diseases are caused by bacteria. Folic

acid in your bloodstream makes it easier for the bacteria to

replicate and create new DNA.

Our understanding of the effects of folic acid was clarified by our

understanding of a conventional treatment for sarcoidosis, one of

the most aggressive Th1 inflammatory diseases. Methotrexate (MTX) is

supposed to slow down the progression of sarcoidosis. MTX works by

blocking the activity of folic acid. Methotrexate stops the enzyme

dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) from catalyzing the reduction of 5,6-

dihydrofolate to 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate. A movie depicting

conformational changes of DHFR during one turnover of substrate has

been constructed using six isomorphous crystallographic

structures. " DHFR - The Movie' is a webpage which illustrates how

MTX works.

At the dosages used in sarcoidosis MTX acts on the enzyme

dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) exactly the same way as the

antibiotic Trimethoprim (which is half of Bactrim,Sulfa/Trimeth)

does.

Folic Acid supplements are often given to ease the `side effects' of

MTX. However, Folic Acid directly reduces the antibiotic action of

both Trimethoprim and MTX. Biochemically it makes no sense to take

Folic Acid with MTX (or Bactrim). Although this may reduce pain from

the Herxheimer reaction (`side effects'), a lower dose of MTX would

be a better proposition, and far less damaging to the liver.

Surprisingly, very few researchers (or physicians) have realized

that if sarcoidosis patients seem to get better by blocking the

action of folic acid, then it stands to reason that a sarc patient

should not be given folic acid supplements.

It is commonly accepted that bacteria synthesize all their

DiHydroFolate directly, and do not require folic acid in order to

generate the nucleic acids (for DNA and RNA and protein

transcription).

Empirically, we have observed that sarcoidosis patients tend to be

able to tolerate the Folic Acid in thir diet, but that their serum

folates remain low even when high dose supplementation is used.

Clearly something unexpected is going on, and we have no good handle

on it right now. It could be the host, or it could be a host-

pathogen interaction.

Since it is common for immune patients to have low serum folates,

and therefore to be recommended folic acid supplements, we place

folic acid on the list of " medications requiring care " so that folks

would not gobble it up willynilly, without thinking carefully first.

You know, about 3% of the population is being given regular

methotrexate, a DiHydroFolateReductase antagonist, to help their

arthritis. Isn't it strange that while we give these folks medicines

which block their folic acid metabolism, we pour folic acid down

everybody's throats by supplementing all refined flour, and flour

products, with folates. We then have the gall to call it " enriched

flour " . I am not a natural foods zealot (far from it), but you know,

some of the things that Government nutritionists are advising us are

just plain stupid. "

Trevor Marshall, PhD.

For more information, search for 'methotrexate' and 'dihydrofolate

reductase' in these course notes from the University of South

Carolina

http://www.med.sc.edu:85/mayer/antibiot.htm