Unlike in the United States and Canada where folic acid has been added by law to white floor and grain products since the late 1990s, European flour is not routinely supplemented. She said people's homocysteine levels are likely higher and the impact of lowering them may be better seen.
"Until further data become available it is essential to remain firmly grounded on the available evidence and to admit that once again experimental and observational data do not always translate into therapeutic benefits," Lonn wrote.
She pointed to recent studies that overturned conventional wisdom -- such as the study showing that hormone replacement therapy actually worsened the risk of heart disease and a study showing that raising so-called "good" cholesterol did not have immediate and clear heart benefits.
