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Bridget M. Kuehn

JAMA. 2007;298(20):2361.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Folic acid supplements may help protect individuals who are chronically exposed to arsenic in drinking water, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

A randomized controlled trial involving 130 individuals in Bangladesh who were chronically exposed to arsenic in their drinking water and had low blood folic acid levels found that folic acid supplements significantly lowered blood arsenic levels (Gamble MV et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;86[4]:1202-1209). After 12 weeks, levels of arsenic in the blood of participants taking the supplement were reduced by 13.6%, while arsenic levels decreased 2.5% in the placebo group.

The authors explained that folic acid detoxifies arsenic into a form that is readily excreted in urine. Additionally, the findings suggest that the supplement may help the body eliminate arsenic that remains even after exposure has stopped, although more research is necessary to confirm this.

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