nant and through the first two months of pregnancy reduces the risk of cleft palate; taking
folate through the entire pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects.
Possible lower risk of heart attack. In the spring of 1998, an analysis of data from the records
for more than 80,000 women enrolled in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study at Harvard
School of Public Health/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, demonstrated that a diet
providing more than 400 mcg folate and 3 mg vitamin B 6 daily, either from food or supple-
ments, might reduce a woman’s risk of heart attack by almost 50 percent. Although men
were not included in the study, the results were assumed to apply to them as well.
However, data from a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association in December 2006 called this theory into question. Researchers at Tulane Univer-
sity examined the results of 12 controlled studies in which 16,958 patients with preexisting
cardiovascular disease were given either folic acid supplements or placebos (“look-alike” pills
with no folic acid) for at least six months. The scientists, who found no reduction in the risk
of further heart disease or overall death rates among those taking folic acid, concluded that
further studies will be required to determine whether taking folic acid supplements reduces
the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Irritated skin. Because it can break down proteins, papain (and/or fresh papayas) may
cause dermatitis, including a hivelike reaction. This is not an allergic response: it can hap-
pen to anyone.
Food/Drug Interactions
Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are drugs used to
treat depression. They inactivate naturally occurring enzymes in your body that metabolize
tyramine, a substance found in many fermented or aged foods. Tyramine constricts blood
vessels and increases blood pressure. One by-product of papain’s breaking up long-chain
protein molecules to tenderize meat is the production of tyramine. If you eat a food such
as papain-tenderized meat while you are taking an MAO inhibitor, you cannot effectively
eliminate the tyramine from your body. The result may be a hypertensive crisis.
Papaya