Hey.....
are you including Folic Acid in your current regimen
Yes, I take 200mcg per day (the RDA for men)
Do not go over 400mcg per day....I posted this in response to a question by BrdiePutt....it will explain why not to go overboard with folic acid:
The highest dose recommended for men is around 400mcg...with 800mcg being given to pregnant women...do try to find a folic acid supplement that does not exceed 400mcg.
Do not overdo folic acid...400mcg tops!...preferably 200mcg.
Toxicity from excessive Folic acid intake does not normally occur, as folic acid is water soluble and regularly excreted by the body. However, doses of folic acid that greatly exceed the RDA (200mcg men) may obscure a serious condition called pernicious anemia
http://www.herbaladvisor.com/qlinks/xq/ ... tamins.htm
Since folic acid only cures symptoms of anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency, it is ineffective against the other serious vitamin B12 deficiency-related nerve damages. Thus, folic acid can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency causing certain nerve ailments to progress to an irreversible stage. For this reason, the amount of folic acid in vitamin preparations is limited to 400 mcg for adults and 800 mcg for pregnant women.
As it conflicts with vitamin B12 deficiency, folic acid in high quantity should be avoided unless vitamin B12 deficiency is completely ruled out.
Patients having hormone-related cancer or convulsive disorder should avoid heavy doses of the vitamin.
will it interfere with the effect of my other tratments
No....what I believe it will do (where regaine is concerned) is prevent tolerance to the product from developing by assisting BH4 in keeping its levels high enough to prevent superoxide from running the show as a result of using a nitrate such as minoxidil.
When people use nitro glycerin (also a nitrate....a donor of nitric oxide), they(well some people) eventually develop a 'tolerance' to it.
This is because superoxide (O-2) is derived from nitric oxide (NO) and while increasing their levels of NO, they inadvertently raise their superoxide levels.
The superoxide then reacts with NO to form peroxynitrite (ONOO-) etc etc.
So NO goes down and cannot do its thing....seemingly the nitrate ceases to work or works less effectively.
Thats the thing about NO....if you're going to increase its production,you must protect yourself against increased superoxide production....or you end up lowering NO:
If you ensure that BH4 is adequately bioavailable (by taking folic acid), nitric oxide (whether donated or 'inherent') will continue to do its thing because of BH4's scavenging of superoxide...therefore the nitrate will not lose it's ability to work and work to the best of its ability.
minoxidil is also a donor of NO (nitrate), only much more powerful and I believe that minoxidil loses its punch in some people because of the same reasons so folic acid will only help minoxidil to continue its good work.
Note: Vitamin C has been proven to do the same thing (assist BH4).
The official RDA for vitamin C is 60mg/day but that is not the amount needed for optimum health, it's the amount needed to avoid scurvy.
The unofficial RDA (recommended by medical researchers at the National Institutes of Health in the USA ) is 200mg per day.
A minimum of 200mg per day for smokers was recommended by researchers at the Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee....and even then, their blood plasma levels will equal that of non smokers taking the official 60mg/day....give it up man...it's doing you no good :wink:
So folic acid 200
mcg/day (no higher than 400mcg) and vitamin C 200
mg/day.
Hope this helps...later!