Recent studies show that vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid can dramatically lower homocysteine levels and prevent the homocysteine-induced oxidation of cholesterol that damages arterial lining.

Dr. Meir J. Stampfer of Harvard Medical School and Dr. Eric B. Romm of the Harvard School of Public Health pointed out in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), June 26, 1996, that “Strong and remarkably consistent data have linked elevated levels of homocysteine with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases…”

High levels of methionine (amino acid) found in red meat, milk, and milk products is a precursor to homocysteine, a free radical generator capable of oxidizing cholesterol. Dried milk and highly processed red meats contain high amounts of oxidized (damaged) cholesterol. While these foods are consumed in abundance in the US, the majority of the population is deficient in B-vitamins (see Food Damage Report).

Dr. Robert M. Russell of Tuft University said, in JAMA, June 19, 1996, “By increasing folate intake to 400 micrograms per day (twice the present RDA), homocysteine levels in blood could be reduced by four millimoles per liter, thus preventing a minimum of 13,500 deaths annually from coronary artery disease.”

Current medical research focuses on folate (a B-complex vitamin), but three other B-vitamins – B6, B12, and riboflavin also lower homocysteine levels.

B-vitamins are found in the hull and germ of whole grains and are milled away in most supermarket breads, crackers, dry cereals, and thousands of other highly processed foods.

Without B-vitamin sufficiency, a diet with excessive amounts of red meat, milk, and milk products increases homocysteine. Elevated levels of homocysteine, like high fibrinogen, contribute to coronary artery disease, heart attack, and heart failure.

Refined carbohydrates like those found in white bread and flour are sugar. They raise insulin and triglyceride levels. Refined carbohydrates have been stripped of B-vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, chromium, and zinc. Only iron – in a poorly absorbed form – and three B-vitamins are added to “enriched” foods. But our bodies need the entire B-complex and all the trace mineral elements in order to stay healthy.

Earlier research at Tufts University (reported in the Summer, 1995, FFC) indicates that moderate increases of B-vitamins in the blood were enough to dramatically lower homocysteine concentrations.

Folate (folic acid) is found in green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, dried beans, nuts, oatmeal, wheat germ, and brewer’s yeast

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