Folic acid: the health effects of this essential vitamins are ever-changing. Here's the latest.

Is there a history of colon cancer in your family? Can't remember if there is?

If you said yes to the former and no to the latter, then you may want to add folic acid to your supplement regimen. When it comes to colon cancer, two large, long-term studies have found that folic acid helps reduce it. Researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston concluded that long-term use of multivitamins containing folic acid could reduce the risk of colon cancer in women, according to a study in the October 1, 1998 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

A significant link between folate intake and reduced colon cancer risk was also found among male non-drinkers by researchers at Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans, who followed 14,407 subjects over 20 years. The scientists concluded in the January 2001 issue of the Annals of Epidemiology that male non-drinkers who had diets high in folate, as well as methionine (an amino acid found in meat, fish and dairy products), were at lower risk for colon cancer.

By contrast, if you've been taking supplements containing folic acid and vitamin [B.sub.12] to ward off cognitive decline later in life, consider this: Researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands found that the vitamins may not protect against dementia after all.

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