Add citrus to your tea to
boost antioxidant action
Supplements 101
Are you getting
enough folate?
WHAT IT IS: A naturally occurring B vitamin found in dark leafy
greens, citrus fruit, beans, and peas. Folic acid is the synthetic form
added to foods and supplements.
WHY TAKE IT: You’re pregnant or considering getting pregnant.
Folate helps create red blood cells, DNA, and RNA. It also can
reduce heart disease risk by helping metabolize the amino acid
homocysteine, which in high levels is a risk factor for cardiovascular problems. It may even lessen the impact of environmental
pollution. Research also shows folate supplementation can help
reduce blood levels of arsenic, a chemical element that exists
naturally in groundwater—but can accumulate in greater concentrations via runoff from insecticides, lumber-treatment products, and
other industrial processes. Even at 10 parts per billion, the amount
now allowed in drinking water by the EPA, arsenic has been linked
to different types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and
skin problems.
Researchers have found that
catechins, the powerful antioxidants
in tea, are easily destroyed by the
digestive process. The good news:
Adding juice, milk or dairy alternatives,
or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can help
more of the antioxidants survive the
trip through your gut.
During the study, postdigestion
levels of catechins with tea alone
measured less than 20 percent. Adding
an equal part of soy or cow’s milk
boosted catechin levels more than
50 percent; adding rice milk raised
levels almost 70 percent. But maximum
benefit was found by adding 30 mg of
ascorbic acid (74 percent increase) or
vitamin C–rich lemon juice (a whopping
98 percent).
DOSE: Adults should aim for 400 mcg daily—the average found in
most multivitamins and folic-acid supplements. Pregnant women
can take 600 mcg daily. –Christy Mercer and Tiffany Plate
Catechins are particularly high in
green teas (50–85 mg per gram,
compared to 5–50 mg per gram of
black tea). They have been touted to
support health and fight off disease.
