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| Don't believe everything you read on Infographics. Some, like this one, have false information |
Are you a reader of infographics?
If so, I will bet that you believe that they were written by experts, or at the very least by someone who had some medical background.
They didn't.
If you believe the information on them, please don't.
Infographics are created with a computer program by people just like you and me. They make them for lots of reasons.
Primarily they are informing others that:
1) they know how to make cool infographics
2) that they can copy and paste like a pro
3) that they didn't research the information
Instead, they copied the information from one or more sources and they never bothered to research to see if the information was true.
In other words, they didn't do any homework.
I would like to point out some information on this infographic. It is only one infographic from among a dozen or more on Pinterest with false or misleading information.
This one states that Folic Acid is Vitamin B-12. It is not.
Folic Acid is and always has been Vitamin B-9.
It also states that Folate deficiency can be diagnosed with a blood test. The fact is that it must be diagnosed with a blood test since that is the only way to measure it.
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It is true that Folic Acid is not helpful for people who have normal blood levels.
It is true that Folic Acid is primarily helpful to pregnant and nursing women.
It is true that Folic Acid works best when taken with Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin C.
But there are a few other things that are not true.
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There is another incorrect value on this infographic that could lead to detrimental side effects.
This is especially concerning if the reader is an uninformed consumer who believed what she read, and ran right out to Walgreens to buy Vitamin B-12 to start their daily RDA of 400 mg. (milligrams).
If that same consumer learned after she arrived at the store that Folic Acid was indeed Vitamin B-9 and not Vitamin B-12 and had she bought Vitamin B-9 instead, that consumer could become very ill with devastating side effects from overdosing on 400 mg of Vitamin B-9.
The infographic SHOULD SAY 400 mcg.
One milligram equals 1000 mcg.
So 400 mg is 400,000 mcg.
Oh My!
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It may not seem like a big deal, but it really is a big deal when so many people rely on the information they read on infographics, especially on Pinterest.
Please read the demonstration at the end of this post.
Be smart.
Research before you put your beliefs into what you have read on infographics.
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Other errors are on the description at the top where it says the vitamin "prevents obesity, prevents heart disease and various cancers, including colon cancer."
This is not true either. It is actually illegal to say any supplement "prevents" a certain disease or ailment.
People who have obesity or colon cancer in their family history will expect to be protected and may find they became obese or got colon cancer anyway.
Listed in the BENEFICIAL box on the right, the author claims that Folic Acid is beneficial for "thwarting heart disease" and "helps keep the brain young."
This is also a falsehood, probably copied from somewhere, but more likely the creator is fudging the benefits of Folic Acid.
People expecting their brain to keep young are going to be very disappointed.
There's no conclusive scientific evidence that Folic Acid keeps your brain young and it has no effect in thwarting, putting off, preventing or treating heart disease, colon cancer, or obesity.
These are buzzwords (or keywords) meant to capture Search Engine robots to place the infographic better in search results.
Your body gets the amount of Folic Acid that it needs from your normal daily diet. It is a water-soluble vitamin which means it is not stored for later use. Taken in normal doses, whatever the body doesn't need washes out of the body with urine.
See for yourself. Search for Folic Acid benefits on Google. Then visit at least five different websites to make sure the information is the same.
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So what are some of those devastating side effects I talked about? Ok, here goes. These were results on all ages of patients who were given 15 mg of Folic Acid for 30 days.
FIFTEEN milligrams, not 400 mcg, not 400 mg.
If the uninformed consumer who went to Walgreen's to buy Folic Acid also has kidney disease (or on dialysis), has an infection, is an alcoholic, or has any type of anemia that has not been confirmed with laboratory testing, Folic Acid is not advised.
But if that uninformed consumer didn't know that, she would be taking a lethal dose.
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In one test study of 100 epilepsy patients, the National Institute of Health (NIH) reported that after taking 15 mg a day for 30 days, increased seizure activity was seen in some epileptic patients whose daily medications included phenobarbital, primidone, or diphenylhydantoin.
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In an NIH study of patients ages 50 -75 years old who received 15 mg daily dose of Folic Acid for one month, the following overdose symptoms were observed:
numbness or tingling, mouth or tongue pain, weakness, tired feeling confusion, or trouble concentrating, nausea, abdominal distension, flatulence, bitter or bad taste, altered sleep patterns, difficulty concentrating, overactivity, and impaired judgment, allergic responses including skin rash, itching, general malaise, respiratory difficulty due to bronchospasm, anaphylaxis including shock, irritability, excitement, mental depression, and confusion.
If the uninformed consumer who arrived at Walgreens to purchase Folic Acid also takes any of these medications, the side effects are stronger:
raltitrexed (brand name Tomudex for chemotherapy), phenytoin (Dilantin), methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall), nitrofurantoin, an antibiotic (Macrodantin, Macrobid), tetracycline, an antibiotic (Ala-Tet, Brodspec, Sumycin), a barbiturate such as butabarbital (Butisol), secobarbital (Seconal), pentobarbital (Nembutal), or phenobarbital (Solfoton), or pyrimethamine (Daraprim) which is an antimalarial drug that is like Quinine.
Many people, young and old, are routinely prescribed a form of Quinine for leg cramps.
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Now, suppose the uninformed consumer who went to Walgreens to buy Folic Acid was a 79-year-old female senior citizen who after believing the incredible claims that she read on an infographic on Pinterest proceeded to take 400 milligrams of Vitamin B-9 (Folic Acid).
After 30 days at 400 milligrams a day, she was suffering from mental depression, confusion, impaired judgment, periods of dementia, and fluctuated back and forth between irritability and outbursts.
Her family doctor gave her a cursory exam without benefit of extensive testing and concluded she was a victim of dementia that comes with old age. He was unaware that she was taking mega-doses of Vitamin B-9.
The family followed the doctor's advice to admit her into a long term nursing facility where the intake coordinator decided to place her in the psych wing. Families usually don't bother to investigate. They'll assume that their loved one finally got Alzheimer's Disease and they will follow a doctor's advice.
She wasn't crazy. She took a dietary supplement in overdose amounts for 30 days that caused the symptoms.
Even though Folic Acid is a water-soluble vitamin, senior citizens can't drink the amount of water needed every single day to wash out even half out of the mega-dose she took every day. After 30 days at such high doses, it can cause permanent damage.
She will only get worse. She will likely be ignored just like other patients in facilities like that because no one listens to or talks to senior citizens who aren't "with it." Because of little or no interaction with others, symptoms have two levels - they either stay the same or they get worse.
She will remain there in that condition because it was logically assumed that her mental symptoms are a normal progression for a senior citizen.
All because no one did any research.
That is what it all comes down to - Research.
Do yours. I did mine.
Please tell your friends about this post that they should research first before they believe what they read on health-related infographics. Thank you.