WASHINGTON, D.C.  The Natural Products Association today issued the following statement by Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., vice president  of scientific regulatory affairs for the Natural Products Association, in response to a study released today in the Journal of the American Medical Association on "Folic Acid for the Prevention of Colorectal Adenomas": 

“This study is not about prevention at all, because every one of the subjects in this study already had this condition.  What this study might address is a prevention of a reoccurrence, which is a distinction with an enormous difference.  It would be grossly inaccurate to suggest or report that folic acid is therefore ineffective for primary prevention of colorectal adenomas based on this study.”

 “Secondly, the study failed to account for other basic factors which may be at work here, including calcium and vitamin D intake from diet, for instance.  Without this essential knowledge, it is impossible to draw clear conclusions about the effects of folic acid on this particular condition.” 

“This might explain why the authors themselves seem confused. They initially state that 'on the whole, the biological and epidemiological evidence supports the potential for folate supplementation to prevent colorectal neoplasia in humans.' Then, they do an about face in their conclusion and speculate regarding an increased risk for colorectal neoplasia, despite stating that 'evidence for an increased risk is equivocal.'”