Effect of folic acid supplementation on homocysteine concentration and association with training in handball players Molina-López, Jorge Molina Molina, José Manuel Chirosa Ríos, Luis Javier Florea, Daniela Ioana Sáez, Laura Planells Del Pozo, Elena María Nutritional status Sport Folic acid Supplementation Homocysteine [Background] Strenuous physical activity can alter the status of folic acid, a vitamin directly associated with homocysteine (Hcy); alterations in this nutrient are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Handball players are a population at risk for nutrient deficiency because of poor dietary habits. [Objective] The aims of this study were to evaluate nutritional status for macronutrients and folic acid in members of a high-performance handball team, and determine the effect of a nutritional intervention with folic acid supplementation and education. [Design] A total of 14 high-performance handball players were monitored by recording training time, training intensity (according to three levels of residual heart rate (RHR): <60%, 60%–80% and >80%), and subjective perceived exertion (RPE) during a 4-month training period. Nutritional, laboratory and physical activity variables were recorded at baseline (Week 0), after 2 months of dietary supplementation with 200 μg folic acid (50% of the recommended daily allowance) (Week 8) and after 2 months without supplementation (Week 16). We compared training load and analyzed changes in plasma concentrations of Hcy before and after the intervention. [Results] Bivariate analysis showed a significant negative correlation (P < 0.01) between Hcy and folic acid concentrations (r = −0.84) at Week 8, reflecting a significant change in Hcy concentration (P < 0.05) as a result of hyperhomocysteinemia following the accumulation of high training loads. At Week 16 we observed a significant negative correlation (P < 0.01) between Hcy concentration and training time with an RHR <60%, indicating that aerobic exercise avoided abrupt changes in Hcy and may thus reduce the risk of cardiovascular accidents in high-performance athletes. [Conclusion] Integral monitoring and education are needed for practitioners of handball sports to record their folic acid status, a factor that directly affects Hcy metabolism. Folic acid supplementation may protect athletes against alterations that can lead to cardiovascular events related to exertion during competition. 2014-06-27T12:49:31Z 2014-06-27T12:49:31Z 2013 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Molina-López, J.; et al. Effect of folic acid supplementation on homocysteine concentration and association with training in handball players. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10: 10 (2013). [http://hdl.handle.net/10481/32397] 1550-2783 http://hdl.handle.net/10481/32397 10.1186/1550-2783-10-10 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License Biomed Central