Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

[Guest guest]

Sorry, but this article is a real stretch. It seems that someone is

trying to deflect research dollars in an attempt to avoid the real issue

of environmental toxins as a more likely causative factor. There are a

lot of other things whose appearance coincides with the rise of autism

that would then have to be researched if we follow the authors thought

process.

Mark Schauss

[ ] Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

http://autism.about.com/cs/newtheories/a/folicacid.htm

Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

>From Adelle on Tilton,Your Guide to Autism/Pervasive Developmental

>Disorders.

Apr 19 2004

Concern Raised by Researchers

Folic Acid is something that every woman expecting a child knows about.

It is stressed by physicians as necessary to prevent neural tube birth

defects. 400 mcg per day is the recommended amount as determined by the

FDA in 1992. But the FDA did not feel that women would adhere to their

recommendations and food has been fortified with Folic Acid since 1998.

Neural tube defects have dropped substantially. There has been no

question that the Folic Acid did help prevent this tragedy that was

affecting far too many children. And it had another, somewhat unexpected

benefit as well - the number of strokes also dropped dramatically. But

now a concern has come to the forefront. Could Folic Acid also be

responsible for the rise in autism?

It is impossible to not think of the physics law when looking at the

Folic Acid debate. For every action, there is an equal and opposite

reaction. Researchers believe that Folic Acid may stop the growth of

many cancers, yet fuel the growth of others. Some studies say that the

additional Folic Acid may prevent miscarriages, and others studies say

that it is not involved in miscarriage counts at all. Additional studies

say that women who have taken supplemental Folic Acid may have babies

that require extra amounts of the supplement for the rest of their lives

- other studies do not show this.

Part of the problem is that this may be the largest uncontrolled trial

in history. There is no government system in place, through the FDA or

any other health organization, to monitor the effects of this

supplement. But by adding it to the food supply, it is essentially a

clinical trial of 250 million people. " This is the first major change in

the food supply ... for quite some time, " said Dr. Irwin Rosenberg, dean

for nutrition sciences at Tufts University in Boston. " When you put 250

million people on an uncontrolled experiment by adding something to

their food supply, I think it is legitimate to say - are you getting it

right? "

The food supply did not have the supplement added until 1998 and autism

rates began to rise substantially before that time. But considered with

the fact that physicians were recommending the 400 mcg long before that,

from at least 1992 or perhaps earlier. And as stated, the drop is neural

tube defects was substantial.

" Practically no studies have been done to look directly or even

indirectly for the adverse effects of elevated folate intakes, " wrote

Barry Shane of the University of California, Berkeley, in a 2003

editorial in the " American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Until people

can demonstrate there's a lot of benefit to adding more to the food

supply compared to the risk, I think it would not be a good idea to add

more. " The problem as viewed by scientists such as Shane is simple math.

If only one per 1000 people were affected, that will still be over a

quarter-million victims.

There is no solid evidence that Folic Acid causes a person to be more

likely to have autism than if they had not had the extra supplemented

through the food supply. But there is also no evidence proving Folic

Acid is not in some way responsible. Research is the only possible way

to determine the risk/benefit ratio which may be hard, if not

impossible, to do. Every American is now consuming Folic Acid and that

removes the possibility of any reliable control group.

And to further confuse parents of children with autism, there are many

proponents of large amounts of Folic Acid as an autism treatment. The

Autism Research Institute, founded by Dr. Bernard Rimland, has a page

recommending large amounts in a therapeutic course.

This recent news only stresses how important research is for the

children and adults who have autism. Parents are frustrated by the

abundance of questions that have no firm answers. Meanwhile, the

statistics continue to rise, with no answers as to what has caused this

disorder to increase so dramatically and so quickly.

----------

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[Guest guest]

My gut reaction is the same as Mark's. I took 800mcg of folic acid

(recommended)before we conceived. Then I took the prenatal vitamins

provided once I was pregnant with my twins. My son & daughter

(fraternal twins) were both fine until around 15mo. when my son

started banging his head, got an ear infection, huge respitory cold,

started being agressive and hitting us, combative, crying....all

within 10 days his Hepatitus B shot! My daughter is completely

unaffectived/normal...zero symptoms. They are 3 now. They would

have both been affected most likely if it was a placental issue in

womb...i.e. folate, me eating too much tuna/fish, etc.

JT

[Guest guest]

Does anyone know the basic viewpoints generally expressed by the author

of this article, Adelle Tilton? Does anyone know the evidence that this

article is based on? I am not up on it, but the whole article seems very

vague to me. No results are quoted, other than a " could be " . Then, near

the end of the article, I find myself startled when I read this:

> And to further confuse parents of children with autism, there are many

proponents of

> large amounts of Folic Acid as an autism treatment. The Autism Research

Institute,

> founded by Dr. Bernard Rimland, has a page recommending large amounts in a

therapeutic > course.

It makes me ask the question of what her attitudes are towards ARI. It

gives me the strange feeling of being subtly warned away from the one

movement that might actually help. I know this might sound like

paranoia, but having read Bernays, nephew of Freud, founder of the

field of " public relations " , and a brilliant psychologist whose master

work, " Propaganda " , should be required reading for anyone living in this

highly managed " democracy " , I don't think it's impossible. Indeed, many

industry groups, for example Monsanto and the whole GE industry, are

hiring people and placing them on the net to monitor what is going on and

intervene at key moments to try to shift the discussion [i've got

references on this somewhere if anyone wants me to dig them up].

Do we know anything more about this woman?

(Perhaps I started out with a wary streak, but even if so, those

tendencies have certainly been encouraged by my study of psychology and

its use for the fashioning of the attitudes of " the mass " - which is us.)

Dave.

-------------

Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 08:48:20 -0500

From: " " <christinag@...>

Subject: Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

http://autism.about.com/cs/newtheories/a/folicacid.htm

Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

From Adelle on Tilton,Your Guide to Autism/Pervasive Developmental

Disorders.

Apr 19 2004

Concern Raised by Researchers

Folic Acid is something that every woman expecting a child knows about.

It is stressed by physicians as necessary to prevent neural tube birth

defects. 400 mcg per day is the recommended amount as determined by the

FDA in 1992. But the FDA did not feel that women would adhere to their

recommendations and food has been fortified with Folic Acid since 1998.

Neural tube defects have dropped substantially. There has been no

question that the Folic Acid did help prevent this tragedy that was

affecting far too many children. And it had another, somewhat unexpected

benefit as well - the number of strokes also dropped dramatically. But

now a concern has come to the forefront. Could Folic Acid also be

responsible for the rise in autism?

It is impossible to not think of the physics law when looking at the

Folic Acid debate. For every action, there is an equal and opposite

reaction. Researchers believe that Folic Acid may stop the growth of many

cancers, yet fuel the growth of others. Some studies say that the

additional Folic Acid may prevent miscarriages, and others studies say

that it is not involved in miscarriage counts at all. Additional studies

say that women who have taken supplemental Folic Acid may have babies

that require extra amounts of the supplement for the rest of their lives

- other studies do not show this.

Part of the problem is that this may be the largest uncontrolled trial in

history. There is no government system in place, through the FDA or any

other health organization, to monitor the effects of this supplement. But

by adding it to the food supply, it is essentially a clinical trial of

250 million people. " This is the first major change in the food supply

.... for quite some time, " said Dr. Irwin Rosenberg, dean for nutrition

sciences at Tufts University in Boston. " When you put 250 million people

on an uncontrolled experiment by adding something to their food supply, I

think it is legitimate to say - are you getting it right? "

The food supply did not have the supplement added until 1998 and autism

rates began to rise substantially before that time. But considered with

the fact that physicians were recommending the 400 mcg long before that,

from at least 1992 or perhaps earlier. And as stated, the drop is neural

tube defects was substantial.

" Practically no studies have been done to look directly or even

indirectly for the adverse effects of elevated folate intakes, " wrote

Barry Shane of the University of California, Berkeley, in a 2003

editorial in the " American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Until people

can demonstrate there's a lot of benefit to adding more to the food

supply compared to the risk, I think it would not be a good idea to add

more. " The problem as viewed by scientists such as Shane is simple math.

If only one per 1000 people were affected, that will still be over a

quarter-million victims.

There is no solid evidence that Folic Acid causes a person to be more

likely to have autism than if they had not had the extra supplemented

through the food supply. But there is also no evidence proving Folic Acid

is not in some way responsible. Research is the only possible way to

determine the risk/benefit ratio which may be hard, if not impossible, to

do. Every American is now consuming Folic Acid and that removes the

possibility of any reliable control group.

And to further confuse parents of children with autism, there are many

proponents of large amounts of Folic Acid as an autism treatment. The

Autism Research Institute, founded by Dr. Bernard Rimland, has a page

recommending large amounts in a therapeutic course.

This recent news only stresses how important research is for the children

and adults who have autism. Parents are frustrated by the abundance of

questions that have no firm answers. Meanwhile, the statistics continue

to rise, with no answers as to what has caused this disorder to increase

so dramatically and so quickly.

--

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wherever you are

[Guest guest]

There has been a thread lately about research ongoing regarding why males

are more likely to be affected (ASD) than females. Theoretically, the same

exposure could result in harm to one twin and not the other since they are

different genetically. One could have had more likelihood of developing

ASD. (I think the research theory was that testosterone makes one more

prone to the damage caused by environmental triggers. Anyone remember any

more on this?)

[ ] Re: Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

> My gut reaction is the same as Mark's. I took 800mcg of folic acid

> (recommended)before we conceived. Then I took the prenatal vitamins

> provided once I was pregnant with my twins. My son & daughter

> (fraternal twins) were both fine until around 15mo. when my son

> started banging his head, got an ear infection, huge respitory cold,

> started being agressive and hitting us, combative, crying....all

> within 10 days his Hepatitus B shot! My daughter is completely

> unaffectived/normal...zero symptoms. They are 3 now. They would

> have both been affected most likely if it was a placental issue in

> womb...i.e. folate, me eating too much tuna/fish, etc.

>

> JT

>

>

>

>

>

> =======================================================

>

[Guest guest]

I've read that estrogen provides protection to cells; hence, the

lower incidence of autism and ADD/ADHD in girls. However, my theory

is that estrogen protects brain cells, and girls may more easily

excrete toxic agents because of the protective effect of estrogen,

but maybe the toxins lodge themselves elsewhere and cause other

problems, eg auto-immune stuff like allergies and chronic probs.

Just a thought.

Janet

> There has been a thread lately about research ongoing regarding why

males

> are more likely to be affected (ASD) than females. Theoretically,

the same

> exposure could result in harm to one twin and not the other since

they are

> different genetically. One could have had more likelihood of

developing

> ASD. (I think the research theory was that testosterone makes one

more

> prone to the damage caused by environmental triggers. Anyone

remember any

> more on this?)

>

>

> [ ] Re: Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause

Autism?

>

>

> > My gut reaction is the same as Mark's. I took 800mcg of folic

acid

> > (recommended)before we conceived. Then I took the prenatal

vitamins

> > provided once I was pregnant with my twins. My son & daughter

> > (fraternal twins) were both fine until around 15mo. when my son

> > started banging his head, got an ear infection, huge respitory

cold,

> > started being agressive and hitting us, combative, crying....all

> > within 10 days his Hepatitus B shot! My daughter is completely

> > unaffectived/normal...zero symptoms. They are 3 now. They would

> > have both been affected most likely if it was a placental issue in

> > womb...i.e. folate, me eating too much tuna/fish, etc.

> >

> > JT

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > =======================================================

> >

[Guest guest]

>Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

Interesting. I only took vitamin supps with my first child and he is the

one with ASD. I don't eat processed food much so I wouldn't be getting much

in my food. But there are too many variables to blame this as the cause. I

also did a herbal detox of my system before my 2nd child, so perhaps I

cleansed myself of the worst toxins. Sure wish I knew.

Abby

[Guest guest]

I recently read that folic acid supplementation during preganancy may make

children of those who supplement require a higher level of folic acid throughout

their life.

S

<br>><br>http://autism.about.com/cs/newtheories/a/folicacid_p.htm<br>>

Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?<br>> From Adelle on

Tilton,Your Guide to<br>> Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders.<br>> Apr 19

2004<br>> Concern Raised by Researchers<br>> Folic Acid is something that every

woman expecting a<br>> child knows about. It is stressed by physicians as<br>>

necessary to prevent neural tube birth defects. 400<br>> mcg per day is the

recommended amount as determined<br>> by the FDA in 1992. But the FDA did not

feel that<br>> women would adhere to their recommendations and food<br>> has

been fortified with Folic Acid since 1998. <br>> <br>> Neural tube defects have

dropped substantially.<br>> There has been no question that the Folic Acid

did<br>> help prevent this tragedy that was affecting far too<br>> many

children. And it had another, somewhat<br>> unexpected benefit as well – the

number of strokes<br>> also dropped dramatically. But now a concern has<br>>

come to the forefront. Could Folic Acid also be<br>> responsible for the rise in

autism?<br>> <br>> It is impossible to not think of the physics law<br>> when

looking at the Folic Acid debate. For every<br>> action, there is an equal and

opposite reaction.<br>> Researchers believe that Folic Acid may stop the<br>>

growth of many cancers, yet fuel the growth of<br>> others. Some studies say

that the additional Folic<br>> Acid may prevent miscarriages, and others

studies<br>> say that it is not involved in miscarriage counts at<br>> all.

Additional studies say that women who have<br>> taken supplemental Folic Acid

may have babies that<br>> require extra amounts of the supplement for the

rest<br>> of their lives – other studies do not show this.<br>> <br>> Part of

the problem is that this may be the largest<br>> uncontrolled trial in history.

There is no<br>> government system in place, through the FDA or any<br>> other

health organization, to monitor the effects of<br>> this supplement. But by

adding it to the food<br>> supply, it is essentially a clinical trial of

250<br>> million people. " This is the first major change in<br>> the food supply

.... for quite some time, " said Dr.<br>> Irwin Rosenberg, dean for nutrition

sciences at<br>> Tufts University in Boston. " When you put 250<br>> million

people on an uncontrolled experiment by<br>> adding something to their food

supply, I think it is<br>> legitimate to say – are you getting it right? " <br>>

<br>> The food supply did not have the supplement added<br>> until 1998 and

autism rates began to rise<br>> substantially before that time. But considered

with<br>> the fact that physicians were recommending the 400<br>> mcg long

before that, from at least 1992 or perhaps<br>> earlier. And as stated, the drop

is neural tube<br>> defects was substantial. <br>> <br>> " Practically no studies

have been done to look<br>> directly or even indirectly for the adverse

effects<br>> of elevated folate intakes, " wrote Barry Shane of<br>> the

University of California, Berkeley, in a 2003<br>> editorial in the “American

Journal of Clinical<br>> Nutrition. Until people can demonstrate there's a<br>>

lot of benefit to adding more to the food supply<br>> compared to the risk, I

think it would not be a good<br>> idea to add more.” The problem as viewed

by<br>> scientists such as Shane is simple math. If only one<br>> per 1000

people were affected, that will still be<br>> over a quarter-million victims.

<br>> <br>> There is no solid evidence that Folic Acid causes a<br>> person to

be more likely to have autism than if they<br>> had not had the extra

supplemented through the food<br>> supply. But there is also no evidence proving

Folic<br>> Acid is not in some way responsible. Research is the<br>> only

possible way to determine th

_______________________________________________

Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

The most personalized portal on the Web!

[Guest guest]

I suspect that it may be anti-nutritional propaganda. I can't see how that

would happen.

Re: [ ] Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

>

> I recently read that folic acid supplementation during preganancy may make

children of those who supplement require a higher level of folic acid

throughout their life.

>

> S

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> <br>><br>http://autism.about.com/cs/newtheories/a/folicacid_p.htm<br>>

Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?<br>> From Adelle on

Tilton,Your Guide to<br>> Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders.<br>> Apr

19 2004<br>> Concern Raised by Researchers<br>> Folic Acid is something that

every woman expecting a<br>> child knows about. It is stressed by physicians

as<br>> necessary to prevent neural tube birth defects. 400<br>> mcg per day

is the recommended amount as determined<br>> by the FDA in 1992. But the FDA

did not feel that<br>> women would adhere to their recommendations and

food<br>> has been fortified with Folic Acid since 1998. <br>> <br>> Neural

tube defects have dropped substantially.<br>> There has been no question

that the Folic Acid did<br>> help prevent this tragedy that was affecting

far too<br>> many children. And it had another, somewhat<br>> unexpected

benefit as well - the number of strokes<br>> also dropped dramatically. But

now a concern has<br>> come to the forefront. Could Folic Acid also be<br>>

responsible for the rise in autism?<br>> <br>> It is impossible to not think

of the physics law<br>> when looking at the Folic Acid debate. For

every<br>> action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.<br>> Researchers

believe that Folic Acid may stop the<br>> growth of many cancers, yet fuel

the growth of<br>> others. Some studies say that the additional Folic<br>>

Acid may prevent miscarriages, and others studies<br>> say that it is not

involved in miscarriage counts at<br>> all. Additional studies say that

women who have<br>> taken supplemental Folic Acid may have babies that<br>>

require extra amounts of the supplement for the rest<br>> of their lives -

other studies do not show this.<br>> <br>> Part of the problem is that this

may be the largest<br>> uncontrolled trial in history. There is no<br>>

government system in place, through the FDA or any<br>> other health

organization, to monitor the effects of<br>> this supplement. But by adding

it to the food<br>> supply, it is essentially a clinical trial of 250<br>>

million people. " This is the first major change in<br>> the food supply ...

for quite some time, " said Dr.<br>> Irwin Rosenberg, dean for nutrition

sciences at<br>> Tufts University in Boston. " When you put 250<br>> million

people on an uncontrolled experiment by<br>> adding something to their food

supply, I think it is<br>> legitimate to say - are you getting it right? "

<br>> <br>> The food supply did not have the supplement added<br>> until

1998 and autism rates began to rise<br>> substantially before that time. But

considered with<br>> the fact that physicians were recommending the 400<br>>

mcg long before that, from at least 1992 or perhaps<br>> earlier. And as

stated, the drop is neural tube<br>> defects was substantial. <br>> <br>>

" Practically no studies have been done to look<br>> directly or even

indirectly for the adverse effects<br>> of elevated folate intakes, " wrote

Barry Shane of<br>> the University of California, Berkeley, in a 2003<br>>

editorial in the " American Journal of Clinical<br>> Nutrition. Until people

can demonstrate there's a<br>> lot of benefit to adding more to the food

supply<br>> compared to the risk, I think it would not be a good<br>> idea

to add more. " The problem as viewed by<br>> scientists such as Shane is

simple math. If only one<br>> per 1000 people were affected, that will still

be<br>> over a quarter-million victims. <br>> <br>> There is no solid

evidence that Folic Acid causes a<br>> person to be more likely to have

autism than if they<br>> had not had the extra supplemented through the

food<br>> supply. But there is also no evidence proving Folic<br>> Acid is

not in some way responsible. Research is the<br>> only possible way to

determine th

> _______________________________________________

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

>

>

>

> =======================================================

>

[Guest guest]

I took maternity vitamins faithfully throughout my first pregnancy. My

daughter is " normal " I threw up for the first three months of my second

pregnancy, and could not tolerate the maternity vitamins at all. Both of my

kids have B12/folate related problems as per testing, and their grandparents

on both sides have the same problems. I somehow doubt that both sets of

grandparents took maternity vitamins throughout their pregnancies. This is

a smokescreen for vaccine damage.

--- Original Message -----

From: " Mark Schauss " <schauss@...>

< >

Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 10:45 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

> I suspect that it may be anti-nutritional propaganda. I can't see how

that

> would happen.

>

> Re: [ ] Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

>

>

> >

> > I recently read that folic acid supplementation during preganancy may

make

> children of those who supplement require a higher level of folic acid

> throughout their life.

> >

> > S

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > <br>><br>http://autism.about.com/cs/newtheories/a/folicacid_p.htm<br>>

> Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?<br>> From Adelle on

> Tilton,Your Guide to<br>> Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders.<br>>

Apr

> 19 2004<br>> Concern Raised by Researchers<br>> Folic Acid is something

that

> every woman expecting a<br>> child knows about. It is stressed by

physicians

> as<br>> necessary to prevent neural tube birth defects. 400<br>> mcg per

day

> is the recommended amount as determined<br>> by the FDA in 1992. But the

FDA

> did not feel that<br>> women would adhere to their recommendations and

> food<br>> has been fortified with Folic Acid since 1998. <br>> <br>>

Neural

> tube defects have dropped substantially.<br>> There has been no question

> that the Folic Acid did<br>> help prevent this tragedy that was affecting

> far too<br>> many children. And it had another, somewhat<br>> unexpected

> benefit as well - the number of strokes<br>> also dropped dramatically.

But

> now a concern has<br>> come to the forefront. Could Folic Acid also

be<br>>

> responsible for the rise in autism?<br>> <br>> It is impossible to not

think

> of the physics law<br>> when looking at the Folic Acid debate. For

> every<br>> action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.<br>>

Researchers

> believe that Folic Acid may stop the<br>> growth of many cancers, yet fuel

> the growth of<br>> others. Some studies say that the additional Folic<br>>

> Acid may prevent miscarriages, and others studies<br>> say that it is not

> involved in miscarriage counts at<br>> all. Additional studies say that

> women who have<br>> taken supplemental Folic Acid may have babies

that<br>>

> require extra amounts of the supplement for the rest<br>> of their lives -

> other studies do not show this.<br>> <br>> Part of the problem is that

this

> may be the largest<br>> uncontrolled trial in history. There is no<br>>

> government system in place, through the FDA or any<br>> other health

> organization, to monitor the effects of<br>> this supplement. But by

adding

> it to the food<br>> supply, it is essentially a clinical trial of 250<br>>

> million people. " This is the first major change in<br>> the food supply

....

> for quite some time, " said Dr.<br>> Irwin Rosenberg, dean for nutrition

> sciences at<br>> Tufts University in Boston. " When you put 250<br>>

million

> people on an uncontrolled experiment by<br>> adding something to their

food

> supply, I think it is<br>> legitimate to say - are you getting it right? "

> <br>> <br>> The food supply did not have the supplement added<br>> until

> 1998 and autism rates began to rise<br>> substantially before that time.

But

> considered with<br>> the fact that physicians were recommending the

400<br>>

> mcg long before that, from at least 1992 or perhaps<br>> earlier. And as

> stated, the drop is neural tube<br>> defects was substantial. <br>> <br>>

> " Practically no studies have been done to look<br>> directly or even

> indirectly for the adverse effects<br>> of elevated folate intakes, " wrote

> Barry Shane of<br>> the University of California, Berkeley, in a 2003<br>>

> editorial in the " American Journal of Clinical<br>> Nutrition. Until

people

> can demonstrate there's a<br>> lot of benefit to adding more to the food

> supply<br>> compared to the risk, I think it would not be a good<br>> idea

> to add more. " The problem as viewed by<br>> scientists such as Shane is

> simple math. If only one<br>> per 1000 people were affected, that will

still

> be<br>> over a quarter-million victims. <br>> <br>> There is no solid

> evidence that Folic Acid causes a<br>> person to be more likely to have

> autism than if they<br>> had not had the extra supplemented through the

> food<br>> supply. But there is also no evidence proving Folic<br>> Acid is

> not in some way responsible. Research is the<br>> only possible way to

> determine th

> > _______________________________________________

> > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> > The most personalized portal on the Web!

> >

> >

> >

> > =======================================================

> >