Folic acid - a promoter of growth for bacteria and fungi

http://www.dosfolat.de/literature/DOSFOLAT_Mohr_e.pdf

I guess the same would be the case for methylfolate?

Yep. At least for some species of bacteria and certainly all forms of fungus I wager. Then again if your immune system is stronger then maybe your innate immunity gets better. Double edged sword.

As an aside niacinamide was shown recently to drastically reduce the resistance of fungi to antifungals by disrupting their replication process. It was niacinamide only not niacin or other b3 variants.

Thanks, dbkita. I didn't know this about niacinamide, that's very interesting. Another good reason to take more.

I'm wondering whether the fact that folate can feed gut pathogens is part of the reason why so many here seem to have difficulty tolerating it? I have noticed lately that my yeast overgrowth seems to get worse when I up my folate dose. I get acne, and dry, scaly skin and itchy scalp.

Do you assess your yeast overgrowth with the acne, dry skin, and itchy scalp? Or are there other symptoms you notice? It definitely seems plausible, but then again, I would think that folate taken on an empty stomach would be absorbed fairly quickly in the upper intestines before the bugs get a chance to munch on it.

You are right in that it depends on which bugs and where they are located. Candida is not confined to the lower intestines. I learned that one the hard way.

I have a stool test that shows fungal overgrowth (unknown taxonomy). I also suffer from frequent sinusitis, that I believe is of fungal origin. Some bloating and diarrhea. And or course the usual, fatigue, malaise, brain fog, OI, allergies, aso.

I am not sure of anything, but the acne, itchiness of the scalp, and the red dry scaly rash on my forehead seems to correlate directly in severity with my mfolate intake. I also seem to get mouth sores.

Hi dbitka, First I would like to Thank You for all that you share on these forums. Much of it is over my head but on good days, I am learning. I too have candida (I hate my toe fungus), I also have have high titters of hhv-6. I am currently taking acyclovir for the later. I am also doing SMP with metafolin. I have reduced to 1200mcg of metfolin trying to address my HORRID gas issues along with a tiny amount of acne confined to below each eye. Have you found that niacinamide reduces candida burden? Does niacinamide adversely affect methylation? Can you share what have you done for Candida other than the norm? I've also read that 10,000 mcg of biotin helps with candida???? Thanks in advance for any light you or anyone can shed.
adreno I'm not sure of anything anymore either. Adding another item to the mix is daunting. I'm still trying to up intake of mb-12 to get back to where I was before I ran out of the enzymatic. The life extension mb12 messed with the mood, energy, bowel and sleep. I will NEVER run out of enzymatic again. Hugs to all

My main strike weapons against Candida are diflucan and Nystatin. Maintenance is diet control, niaciamide and molybdenum. Niacinamide is also extremely useful to kill resistance to diflucan. Nystatin is not gut permeable and cleans the pipes. I take that may be 1-2 times a year for six weeks. Good probiotics are a must imo as well. I have to be eternally vigilant given my high glucocorticoid levels.

Thanks much for the post. I've done difulcan and nystatin in Jan. and Feb. My PCP is nervous-nelly with dif. and nys. I will put this out to my infectious disease dr who is handling the EBV situation. Looks like the missing links maybe Niacinamide ( won't interefere with methylation right) and molybdenum. What dosage of these should I consider? I take a mild probiotic. I've read some scary stuff about different strains. What probiotic are U comfortable with? Your suggestions are greatly appreciated dbkita.

U can disregard most of this. I found your list of supps. on another post. Sorry for the duplication. Just lmk if you will the probiotic U R comfortable with

Np. I take a REALLY heavy probiotic, simple blunt force object. It is the Klaire Labs Detoxification 50 billion CFU one. Anything more lightweight leads to issues sadly. A SIBO test shows I have a bad bacterial dysbiosis running around like a bull in china shop but so far no luck on which one and how to curtail it. No parasites and Candida is well under control at least now.

Looking at it from the other direction, Bactrim is an antiobiotic that works (via each of its two ingredients) by disrupting bacterial folate metabolism.

Btw, simple baking soda makes me fairly impervious to sugar now, probably by changing gut pH to where candida does not thrive. MSM also had worked, but not as powerfully.

To my knowledge, fungi prefer an alkaline environment over acidic.

That's what I'd always heard, yet my experience trumps that and it was an unexpected discovery to me.

I once tested it by having a quart of ice cream at a sitting. No problem. YMMV.

Clarifying: lots of sugar for three day in a row? The itchy scalp time for me. But I never get laid out like before, not even close. I still take biotin, for additional reasons

I don't even like sugar all that much anyway except for sometimes after exercise - at which time I'd put previously cinnamon (or better yet, a stronger antimicrobial: clove powder) on top. But I don't need those tricks anymore.

I'd discussed with somebody IRL last summer that it might even be creating supercharged bacteria. Even if somebody went to a doc with a stubborn infection and filled out their list of supplements, the doc might not suspect anything.

this is confusing cause i was thinking of trying metafolin. anyway does someone also read about folic acid causing tumor to spread/cancer?
try google it.

Yes, there are folate receptor positive cancers, and cancer cells do take in alot of other nutrients. That's why most patients die of malnutrition.

I think it's a good idea to avoid folic acid. So many foods are fortified and enriched with it.

I used to have fungus problems, maybe the folic acid was causal ?

I think the decision to take active folates depends on one's individual condition, and genetic predisposition.

Crux you got fungus problem during methylation with folate?

i read many paper saying folate feeds candida and other bacteria
http://www.springerplus.com/content/2/1/26
http://pathway.candidagenome.org/CALBI/NEW-IMAGE?object=PWY3B3-3

and:

kisekishiawase;

Thanks for the good information, and report from your experiment.
I figure that, in my case, and some others, that with B12 deficiency, folates can accumulate and become toxic.
Some people can become deficient, but I've had blood tests done, and I accumulate folate.
It may be some congenital problem, or genetic.

In the past I've had toenails die back, with athlete's foot. I've also had a coated tongue, etc.
I find that if I avoid folic acid, and even folate supplements, along with taking high doses of B12, the symptoms stop.
( I also get migraines from folates.)

I've even reduced legume consumption, haven't had them in a month or so.

I may be an extreme case, but, it does seem that a notable amount of people here have some degree of sensitivity.

I'm also having a big mug of green ( white ) tea each morning. I do take a small amount of EGCG on occasion.
Oil of oregano has helped with sinus inflammation/infection in the past. I'll look again at the links you posted. Maybe it ,( oregano), also has some anti-folate activity.

Thanks!