Folate is known for producing and maintaining new cells while vitamin B6 is a necessary source of hemoglobin that also helps maintain blood glucose to normal levels. A recent Japanese research revealed that’s not all these dietary supplements do.

The study revealed that high dietary intakes of folate and vitamin B6 are found to reduce the risk for mortality from stroke and any cardiovascular disease in women. In addition, the two supplements may also reduce the risk for heart failure in men.

“This study is the first to show that high dietary intakes of folate and vitamin B6 were associated with a reduced risk of heart failure mortality for men,” Renzhe Cui, MD, from the Graduate School of Medicine at Osaka University, in Osaka, Japan, and colleagues noted in their findings reported.

Analyzed data were gathered from 23,119 men and 35,611 women ages 40 to 79 years who completed food frequency questionnaires as part of the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study. At a median 14 years of follow-up, 986 participants died from stroke, 424 died from coronary heart disease, and 2087 died from any cardiovascular disease.

Intake of folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 by the participants were classified into quintiles. By comparing the lowest and the highest quintiles for each nutrient, the study authors found that higher consumption of folate and vitamin B6 was associated with significantly fewer deaths from heart failure in men. There were also significantly fewer deaths from stroke, heart disease, and any cardiovascular diseasesin women. Vitamin B12 intake was not associated with reduced mortality risk, though.

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