The Nanny State
In the mid-1990s, the USDA decided to require that all cereals and grains be fortified with folic acid in an effort to prevent spina bifida and anencephaly. Then a few years ago, the National Center for Health Statistics published a study showing the levels of folic acid in the population were far above the levels needed to prevent birth defects (though the instances of those two birth defects didn’t actually decline). Now a new study demonstrates that folates in overabundance could actually lead to a higher likelihood of asthma.
And the government said, “Oops.”
It’s interesting how the busy-bodies are always trying to force something on the masses (for their own good) yet the public health advocates don’t always get the science right.