Before digging into the details about what type of cancer causes folic acid deficiency, let us know some of these questions. Why the human body needs folic acid, what are its uses, and what results in its deficiency one by one? Though we all refer to folic acid, but it is actually folate that is generally required by the human body.
Folate is the generic term that includes all forms of vitamin B9. Folic acid is the water-soluble synthetic version of folate of vitamin B.
Since the human body cannot make folate you have to intake folic acid supplements, naturally through folate-rich foods to avoid folate deficiency. Click here to know more about the differences between folic acid and folate and their similarities.
1. What is Folate?
Folate has enormous advantages and health benefits. At the same time, folate deficiency leads to drastic disaster. To understand it better let us look into the advantages of folate in the human body.
1.1 Advantages of Folate
- Folate is one of the most important elements to women during pregnancy. It helps in brain development and also increases the development of red blood cells in the fetus.
- It helps and plays a major role in preventing neural tube irregularities like anencephaly and Spina Bifida.
- Folate dietary intake is not only beneficial in fetal development but also helps in preventing pregnancy complications and birth defects in the embryo. Appropriate folate levels help in avoiding the risk factors of getting dementia, Alzheimer, bipolar disorder, depression, and other brain-related problems.
- Folate intake plays a key role in regulating heart and lung complications along with healthy brain development. Low levels of folate can lead to high homocysteine which can cause a high risk of heart or blood vessel disease.
- It is a problem solver in the case of diabetes and deals with fertility issues.
- Inflammation is known to be the enemy of any disease, but proper folate intake is the best solution to deal with any inflammation or redness.
- An increase in the levels of homocysteine can cause chronic kidney disease and 85% of the disease can be prevented and cured with the intake of folate and folic acid.
- Folic acid plays a key role in repairing DNA, building up red blood cells, and dealing with most of the issues during pregnancy and infants. Healthy brain and spinal cord development, and its deficiency can lead to drastic and dangerous diseases.
1.2 Causes of Folate Deficiency
One of the most common reasons for the deficiency of folate is our food habits. Excess intake of junk food and alcohol can cause the deficiency of folate in our bodies. On the other hand, diseases such as diabetes and the medicine intake for the same can also be one of the leading causes of folate deficiency.
If you fall under these categories and are also lacking folate in your body, then you should get alarmed. You should get yourself checked at the earliest and also increase the folate level.
The categories are:
- Pregnant and not consuming Greenleaf vegetables.
- Suffering from celiac disease
- Not consuming food at the right time every day (due to work pressure or some other reason)
1.3 Folate Deficiency Symptoms
Some of the common symptoms of folate deficiency are mentioned below. If you are facing any of these symptoms, make sure to get yourself checked at the earliest. It is beacuse delays in the same can cause severe problems.
- Having mouth sores & tongue swelling
- Being lethargic
- Suffocating & breathing without the ease
- Constant and consistent fatigue
- Depression and being confused
- Weak memory
- Weight loss
1.4 Health Hazards Caused by Folic Acid Deficiency
Following are the major health hazard possibilities of folate deficiency.
- Blood pressure complications
- Skull complications & birth defects during pregnancy
- Serum homocysteine
- Stomach cancer
- Severe anemia
- Esophageal cancer
- Breast cancer risk & serious birth defect
- Prostate cancer risk
- Colorectal cancer risk
- Gastric cancer risk
Folate deficiency not only leads to these health hazards but also enormous losses like lung cancer risk and neural tube defects. The treatment is expensive and some of the health risks cannot even assure a permanent cure.
A folate deficiency check can be done through blood tests. Checking the red blood cell and plasma folate count can detect the condition and it can improve by consuming folate supplements and pharmacological doses.
Most of the studies by renewed scientists on cardiovascular disease research and cancer research have proved that folate intake boosts the immune system and helps in preventing cancer.
2. What Type of Cancer Causes Folic Acid Deficiency?
Causes of folic acid deficiency can be the low intake of folate, low levels of folic acid, and intake of drugs that can affect badly in the absorption of folate into the body. Short bowel syndrome, gastric bypass surgery, hemolytic anemia, dialysis, alcohol consumption, and celiac disease are some other reasons for folic acid deficiency.
Most colon cancers cause folic acid deficiency. Folic acid implements help in building healthy cells and metabolic interactions that can reduce the risk of all types of cancers. It helps in developing active metabolism and a healthy life span that can prevent any kind of health disease.
Colon cancer or cancer of the colorectum is one of the leading causes of folic acid deficiency in the human body. In this type of cancer, the Cancerian cells are seen growing in the colon of the rectum.
Early detection and diagnosis can help in improving this health condition, hence leading to the normal concentration of folic acid in the body. The delayed the process, the worse the results.
3. The Permanent Cure for Folate Deficiency
Even though initially it is not life-threatening if folate levels are low but slowly it can perish one’s life.
Most of the time folate deficiency can be cured by consuming folate supplements for 4-6 months according to doctors’ prescription with the intake of a healthy diet. But sometimes it gets out of hand when subjected to chronic diseases.
Early diagnosis of folate deficiency through blood tests helps in taking major steps toward preventing health hazards and cancer risks.
Eating healthy food and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help in dealing with this condition to a great extent. Cut on alcohol and any type of drugs if you want to save yourself from this condition.
4. Conclusion
These are some of the major things to keep in mind if you are someone who is suffering from folic acid deficiency. If you are not one of them and just want to keep yourself healthy, this article will help you do the same.
Make sure to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid eating junk food as much as possible to avoid these conditions. In case of any problems, do not forget to consult a doctor at the earliest.
Last Updated on May 1, 2023 by Annanya Chakraborty
