Folic acid can be dangerous in people with a MTHFR mutation. Don't confuse the real folic acid with methyl folate, the form of folic acid that is in most supplements. Here's a summary of what Dr. Kats has to say about folic/folate:
- Folic and folate are not the same thing. Only folic is bioavailable, especially for people with MTHFR.
- Cellular operations actually need folate, but folic is the only way to get it into the body because it's easily absorbed by the intestines for transport to the liver as 5-methylltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF).
- People with MTHFR can't convert methyl folate supplements into useful folate -- but they can use the 5-MTHF from folic acid.
- With niacin, glutamine and 5-MTHF from folic acid, the cells create NAD+ and NADP+, which support energy production and DNA repair
Folic acid (rather then methyl folate) is actually good for people with the MTHFR gene problem. Unfortunately, most products labeled as "folic acid" are actually something else.