- A Prospective Study of Nutrition Education and Oral Nutritional Supplementation in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Abstract:There is considerable scientific evidence that many aspects of diet influence the occurrence of human disease. Many factors such as genetic, psychological, environmental and behavioral characteristics influence development of human disease, and there is a close relationship between nutrition and disease. Though typical Western diets are not overtly deficient in essential nutrients, nutriture of a few micro nutrients such as folic acid has been reported to be sub-optimal, particularly in women of childbearing age. The role of folic acid in the prevention of macrocytic anemia and neural tube defects is well established. However, the relationship between folic acid and risk of autism is still evolving. Furthermore, environmental as well as nutritional factors such as folic acid are now well acknowledged as interacting with the individual genetic background in development of several diseases. In this article, recent research regarding the relationship between folic acid and risk of autism is evaluated.

Could Autism Be Associated With Nutritional Status in the Palestinian population? The Outcomes of the Palestinian Micronutrient Survey

“…Studies have found that children born to women taking prenatal vitamins or folic acid supplements preconceptionally or during the first 2 months of pregnancy had a 40% reduction in the risk of ASD. 29 However, excess intake of folate did subsequently decrease the overall percent of autism incidence in these populations, suggesting that mothers with some gene polymorphism are at higher risk when folate is deficient, 3 with one report hypothesising that children who develop autism may have received a massive dose of folic acid in utero, as well as after birth. 30 It is imperative to emphasise that some researchers could not find such an association between folic acid and autism; this could be due to the fact that other micronutrients should be presented for folic acid effect to take place.…”

“…2 Although both genetic and multiple environmental risk factors have been studied extensively, many potentially modifiable risk factors including nutritional and immune function–related risk factors such as vitamin D, folic acid, and metabolic syndrome have not received sufficient attention. 3 Several recent studies have put forward hypotheses to explain the mechanism of association between both folic acid and vitamin D and autism. A continuous rise in the prevalence of autism in many countries around the world has coincided with a significant enhancement of maternal folate status.…”