A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that women who consume folic acid and vitamin B6 have a decreased risk of heart attack. Researchers analyzed information from about 80,000 female nurses who had been filling out surveys every two years about their lifestyle, diet and health for fourteen years.
Investigators found that women who included either folic acid or B6 in their diet had less chance of developing heart disease than those women who consumed neither, while those who included both vitamins had an even smaller chance of attacks.
The study supports an old theory proposing that high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid found in the blood, can damage blood vessels. Vitamin B6 and folic acid are thought to decrease homocysteine levels.
While most of the women surveyed got their vitamin B6 and folic acid through multivitamins and cold cereals, the vitamins can also be found in orange juice, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, bananas, potatoes and whole grains.
