Mr. Zhao, 53 years old, is a middle and senior leader in a private company, and when he was young, he always worked hard in his career and did not pay attention to his body.
After entering middle age, I obviously found that I had some problems with my body, and I also suffered from diseases that are particularly easy to get in middle-aged and elderly people.
He was found to have high blood pressure during a physical examination, and after learning about this incident, Mr. Zhao began to pay attention to his body, and his blood pressure was relatively stable.
Because it has been stable for a long time, Mr. Zhao is not as attentive to his medication as before, and sometimes he does not pay attention to his diet.
In the end, something went wrong, and when I went to the hospital again, the doctor said, "If you don't control your blood pressure well, the problem may be more serious in the future." ”
"I made a plan for you according to your situation, you go back to take folic acid, and come back for a review after taking it for a while. ”
Mr. Zhao had heard folic acid even if he didn't understand it anymore, and asked the doctor in confusion: "I'm not pregnant, what are I doing with folic acid?"
The doctor smiled helplessly: "Folic acid is not only suitable for pregnant women, you now have an indicator that is abnormal, this indicator is homocysteine, eating folic acid is conducive to stability." ”
After that, Mr. Zhao listened to the doctor's words and began to take folic acid, and after half a year, his body really changed, and what was the specific change?
1. What is folic acid and what does it do?
Most people know that folic acid is suitable for pregnant women, and it is necessary for pregnant women to supplement folic acid during pregnancy, which is for the health of the fetus and prevent fetal development malformations.
Because of this, folic acid is also known as the protector of children, but this also leads to a certain deviation in many people's cognition of folic acid.
Folic acid is not only good for children and pregnant women, but also for some specific groups of people, it is still necessary to supplement folic acid in moderation, and the effect is not as limited as most people think.
Function 1: Prevent anemia
Folic acid has a certain relationship with the hematopoietic function of the human body, and it is a very important nutrient for hematopoietic function and is indispensable.
Once the body lacks folic acid, it will lead to megaloblastic anemia, and red blood cell nutrients will also become loose.
The end result is poor emotional control, rapid heart beating, and fatigue, which can have a serious impact on quality of life and physical health.
Role 2: Prevent Alzheimer's disease
We all know that folic acid has a positive effect on fetal development. It mainly plays a very important role in the process of neurodevelopment.
If you get enough folic acid during pregnancy, you can prevent neurological deficits in your baby.
Because of this, some studies have shown that for middle-aged and elderly people, if they can supplement folic acid in moderation, it can prevent Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disease, and folic acid supplementation is good for nerve development, so it can play a certain role.
Effect 3: Reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
H-type hypertension is a type of hypertension and refers to high blood pressure with elevated blood homocysteine levels.
Studies have shown that this type reaches 75% of patients with hypertension in mainland China.
And this type of hypertension has a much higher risk of stroke than ordinary people with high blood pressure.
Homocysteine is an intermediate product of amino acid metabolism, and the metabolism of this substance will be greatly hindered under the influence of certain nutritional deficiencies.
This will lead to an increase in the concentration of this substance in the blood and produce a certain toxicity, so that the blood vessel wall cells will have a serious and serious reaction, which will also lead to the formation of blood clots.
Therefore, it is easy to have problems such as stroke and heart attack, and the lack of folic acid in the body will lead to an increase in homocysteine levels.
Therefore, if folic acid can be supplemented in an appropriate amount, then the metabolism of homocysteine will be transformed.
The level of this substance in the human body will be reduced, thus playing a role in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
For patients with high blood pressure, if they belong to this type of high blood pressure, then the appropriate amount of folic acid supplementation, there must be some changes in the body.
For Mr. Zhao, what changes have occurred in his body after half a year?
2. What changes will occur in the body?
First, the blood pressure went down. Mr. Zhao listened to the doctor's advice and began to take folic acid, during which time he also began to pay attention to his diet and some other lifestyle habits.
When I went for another check-up, Mr. Zhao's blood pressure was indeed very stable, and after half a year, the doctor told Mr. Zhao that his blood pressure had completely stabilized.
If you can continue to adhere to good lifestyle and eating habits, you can keep your blood pressure in a stable state all the time.
Hearing what the doctor said, Mr. Zhao and his family were very happy.
Because Mr. Zhao is a type H hypertension, proper folic acid supplementation can play a role in lowering blood pressure and reduce other complications caused by high blood pressure.
Secondly, sperm quality improves. In fact, after supplementing folic acid in men over 50 years old, it not only has a certain stabilizing effect on blood pressure, but also improves the quality of sperm.
Finally, soften the blood vessels. For people with high blood pressure or hyperlipidemia, the blood is in a viscous state, and folic acid can make the blood flow of the whole body smoother, and has a certain effect of softening blood vessels.
It can effectively prevent arterial sclerosis when taken for a long time, which is helpful to the health of middle-aged and elderly people.
Therefore, in general, folic acid is not a drug exclusive to pregnant women, but is suitable for many types of groups.
Especially after middle age, the lack of folic acid in the body can easily lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
But there are a lot of things to be aware of when supplementing with folic acid.
3. Precautions for folic acid supplementation
First, preference is given to dietary supplementation.
For middle-aged and elderly people, folic acid supplementation is indeed a very important thing, but reasonable folic acid supplementation can really ensure the health status of middle-aged and elderly people.
Regarding the channels to use to supplement folic acid, it is recommended to choose foods for supplementation. Because folic acid belongs to the class of vitamins, water-soluble vitamins are metabolically consumed and excreted in the body.
Therefore, it is advisable to ensure that the level of folic acid is sufficient in life, and it is best if it can be consumed through diet.
There are many related types of ingredients in life that contain a high amount of folic acid, such as animal liver, although animal liver contains a high content of folic acid, but for some middle-aged and elderly groups, it should be consumed in moderation.
At this time, you can add some vegetables, such as dark green vegetables or broccoli and a variety of fruits, which are rich in folic acid and have more benefits for the body.
Supplementation through diet should be reasonably arranged, reasonably matched, and a scientific diet can not only supplement folic acid, but also supplement other nutrients.
Compared to other pharmaceutical supplements, food supplementation is safer.
Second, more folic acid is not always better. Nowadays, many middle-aged and elderly people know that folic acid supplementation is beneficial to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and can lower blood pressure, so they choose to supplement folic acid regularly.
Moreover, it would be a mistake to think that folic acid is not a drug, but a vitamin.
Because choosing a large dose of folic acid for long-term supplementation is likely to bring some related symptoms, which may cause megaloblastic anemia.
Therefore, the dosage of folic acid should be supplemented according to the doctor's guidance, how much should be eaten, how long to eat, these should not be prescribed by yourself.
Third, pay attention to food combinations when supplementing folic acid. One of the most important things to do when taking folic acid is that it cannot be consumed with some foods.
For example, alcohol or alcoholic beverages, just like when we take medicine, we should also stay away from alcohol and alcoholic beverages, because it will affect the digestion and absorption of folic acid.
At the same time, it should not be eaten with foods rich in vitamin C and spicy, irritating and greasy foods, which will cause certain problems in the absorption of folic acid.
Fourth, a reasonable combination to promote the absorption of folic acid.
Middle-aged and elderly people belong to the group with a high incidence of cardiovascular diseases, and also have a higher incidence of other types of diseases, which is due to the high incidence of diseases caused by the degeneration of the body caused by aging.
It is true that vitamin supplementation can prevent diseases, but it does not mean that supplementing with this disease can control the whole body.
Therefore, it is still necessary to use other products to promote the absorption of folic acid, mainly to promote the synthesis of amino acids, so that the body can form a stronger mechanism. Prevent the occurrence of various diseases.
All in all, folic acid is indeed good for the human body, but it must be consumed in moderation.
And choose long-term food supplementation or direct dose supplementation according to your physical condition.
If you are extremely deficient in folic acid, you can communicate with your doctor about how much to eat every day, so that your body can quickly return to a normal state.
epilogue
Through the above content, I believe you should understand that folic acid is not a kind of exclusive for pregnant women, in addition to being the protector of children, it can be said to be the protector of anyone.
Because after a certain age, folic acid supplementation does help cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Especially if you suffer from H-type hypertension, if it is this type of hypertension, then an appropriate amount of folic acid supplementation can better stabilize blood pressure and prevent complications.
In daily life, it is best to choose to take food as a supplement for folic acid, and there are many foods in life that are rich in natural folic acid.
Long-term targeted consumption can allow the body to replenish folic acid in time, without worrying about health risks.
Of course, for middle-aged and elderly people, in the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, folic acid supplementation alone is not enough.
You should also pay attention to other eating habits and lifestyle habits, such as paying attention to regular physical examinations, exercising moderately, etc.