Folic Acid on the Defensive

Folic acid has long been recommended for women of reproductive age to help prevent neural tube defects.
 
But online, doubt is being sown about its safety for more than half of the US population who have variants of the gene known as MTHFR.
 
The health impacts of common MTHFR variants have produced intense curiosity amid the takeoff of genetic testing,
 
But even as scientific consensus has grown that there are few health risks linked to MTHFR variants, “in the general public, especially on the internet, it just took off in the other direction,” says clinical geneticist Scott Hickey.
 
Undark