Why the Folate Controversy Persists: The Biosocial Complexities of Folate
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Sociology
Abstract
The B-vitamin folate is at the centre of an ongoing controversy within science and beyond that focuses on the role and effects of folate and its synthetic form, folic acid, in health and disease. While existing research has shown that vitamins play an important role in how we understand ourselves, this research will be the first to explore the relationship between the biology and social life of folate, disrupting analyses and attempts to separate the two. This is necessary if we are to understand the biosocial complexities that constitute our everyday life, and why the folate controversy persists.
Playing a vital role in cell growth and development, folate has been known for decades to help prevent birth defects, which is why women who are trying to conceive and women who are pregnant are advised to take a daily supplement of 400mg of folic acid. It is also why over 60 countries worldwide have introduced food fortification programmes, either voluntarily or mandatory. In the UK, fortification of food products with folic acid is currently voluntary in accordance with existing EU rules, but following a public consultation on the proposal to introduce mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid, the government has just recently decided to proceed with mandatory fortification and legislate on this basis. Concerns, however, have and continue to be raised by some scientists and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners about the possible adverse health effects of high doses of folic acid, including masking of low vitamin B12 status, cognitive decline in older individuals, cancer and long-term effects of unmetabolized folic acid. In the wake of more recent scientific developments, particularly within the disciplines of nutrigenetics and nutritional epigenetics, those concerns have not been settled. Scientific explanations of folate are also increasingly debated on social media and online forums, where controversially, folic acid is advised against by some CAM practitioners.
The proposed research responds to the ongoing controversy around folate and folic acid by developing an interdisciplinary and empirical account of the biosocial complexities of folate that seeks to map and analyse the different understandings of folate and positions within the debate. The aim of the research is therefore not to provide evidence for and against folate and folic acid, but to generate new knowledge about the connections between why, how and what we ingest and what these compounds do in our bodies with the aim to extend public debate and social theorising on understandings and experiences of health and disease. The long-term ambition is to create positive changes in understandings of life with chronic illness and disease that will influence scientific research, policy and priorities.
I will interview scientists, policy stakeholders, CAM practitioners and lay individuals, and create a comprehensive database of documentary materials from science and healthcare databases and online media. The data collected with be analysed using different kinds of maps to visualise and examine the connections between the biology and social life of folate and to interpret the tensions, ambiguities and values at stake in the folate controversy. Research findings will be published in peer-reviewed, open-access journals and reported in online writings targeting a wider audience with the aim to shape academic and public debate on understandings of vitamins, health and disease.
Playing a vital role in cell growth and development, folate has been known for decades to help prevent birth defects, which is why women who are trying to conceive and women who are pregnant are advised to take a daily supplement of 400mg of folic acid. It is also why over 60 countries worldwide have introduced food fortification programmes, either voluntarily or mandatory. In the UK, fortification of food products with folic acid is currently voluntary in accordance with existing EU rules, but following a public consultation on the proposal to introduce mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid, the government has just recently decided to proceed with mandatory fortification and legislate on this basis. Concerns, however, have and continue to be raised by some scientists and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners about the possible adverse health effects of high doses of folic acid, including masking of low vitamin B12 status, cognitive decline in older individuals, cancer and long-term effects of unmetabolized folic acid. In the wake of more recent scientific developments, particularly within the disciplines of nutrigenetics and nutritional epigenetics, those concerns have not been settled. Scientific explanations of folate are also increasingly debated on social media and online forums, where controversially, folic acid is advised against by some CAM practitioners.
The proposed research responds to the ongoing controversy around folate and folic acid by developing an interdisciplinary and empirical account of the biosocial complexities of folate that seeks to map and analyse the different understandings of folate and positions within the debate. The aim of the research is therefore not to provide evidence for and against folate and folic acid, but to generate new knowledge about the connections between why, how and what we ingest and what these compounds do in our bodies with the aim to extend public debate and social theorising on understandings and experiences of health and disease. The long-term ambition is to create positive changes in understandings of life with chronic illness and disease that will influence scientific research, policy and priorities.
I will interview scientists, policy stakeholders, CAM practitioners and lay individuals, and create a comprehensive database of documentary materials from science and healthcare databases and online media. The data collected with be analysed using different kinds of maps to visualise and examine the connections between the biology and social life of folate and to interpret the tensions, ambiguities and values at stake in the folate controversy. Research findings will be published in peer-reviewed, open-access journals and reported in online writings targeting a wider audience with the aim to shape academic and public debate on understandings of vitamins, health and disease.
