and now B9
2013-Feb-13, Wednesday 09:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerI heard part of the NPR story about folic acid cutting autism risk by 40%. I searched online and found a lot of associations between folate and issues that I blog about regularly such as epigenetics, demyelination, effects on brain areas specifically associated with autism, and most importantly... low energy levels.
For now, I'll just say that I will finish my bottle of vitamin D supplements next week, and I will replace it with vitamin B9 instead. There are upper limits on safety of folic acid (the common artificial form of folate), so I won't go with mega-doses of it. B9 needs to be kept in near proportion to the other B-complex vitamins to be useful, so I'll continue with my multivitamin too. My regimen now includes multivitamin, B12, and B9.
I'm amused that my body may have already known about a B9 problem. I prepare few recipes regularly, but one of them is my homemade spinach dip. Spinach apparently is exceeded in folate density only by beef liver. I can't afford premade spinach dips or those expensive packets of flavor powders, so I experimented to make my own. Here's the recipe that I have used for years.
Spinach Dip
1 package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted but still chilled (squeeze out all of the extra water)
1 package 16 ounce sour cream (low-fat version will work but tastes slightly less flavorful)
1 package water chestnuts (diced to small cubes)
1 T garlic powder (or more, depending on your taste)
1 T onion salt (or more, if you can safely have that much salt)
Mix the sour cream and spices, then the water chestnuts, then the spinach. Make sure all of the spinach is coated with sour cream. Chill again when you're done. I usually pack the mixture back into the sour cream container (as much as will fit) to store in the refridgerator, then pig out immediately with corn chips on what's left over in the bowl. Yummy, cheap, and easy!
For now, I'll just say that I will finish my bottle of vitamin D supplements next week, and I will replace it with vitamin B9 instead. There are upper limits on safety of folic acid (the common artificial form of folate), so I won't go with mega-doses of it. B9 needs to be kept in near proportion to the other B-complex vitamins to be useful, so I'll continue with my multivitamin too. My regimen now includes multivitamin, B12, and B9.
I'm amused that my body may have already known about a B9 problem. I prepare few recipes regularly, but one of them is my homemade spinach dip. Spinach apparently is exceeded in folate density only by beef liver. I can't afford premade spinach dips or those expensive packets of flavor powders, so I experimented to make my own. Here's the recipe that I have used for years.
Spinach Dip
1 package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted but still chilled (squeeze out all of the extra water)
1 package 16 ounce sour cream (low-fat version will work but tastes slightly less flavorful)
1 package water chestnuts (diced to small cubes)
1 T garlic powder (or more, depending on your taste)
1 T onion salt (or more, if you can safely have that much salt)
Mix the sour cream and spices, then the water chestnuts, then the spinach. Make sure all of the spinach is coated with sour cream. Chill again when you're done. I usually pack the mixture back into the sour cream container (as much as will fit) to store in the refridgerator, then pig out immediately with corn chips on what's left over in the bowl. Yummy, cheap, and easy!