A new study has found that adults having high blood pressure should take generous amount of food items that are rich in folic acid. By having plenty of vitamin B may lower the chances of having a stroke, which is linked to high blood pressure.

Folate is present naturally in many foods, including green leafy vegetables, beans and citrus fruits. In the United States, folate is added to most of the grain products, like wheat flour, cornmeal, pasta and rice. These products have folic acid, which is the synthetic version of folate.

But such is not the case with many countries in the world, like China, where the current study has been carried out. The study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association had more than 20,000 adults in experiment.

The participants were having high blood pressure, who did not suffer a stroke or heart attack. Participants were either asked to take folic acid along with blood pressure lowering medicine enalapril (Vasotec) or just the medicine.

The researchers noticed that those who took the combination had reduced risk of suffering from stroke than those who took enalapril alone. The study researchers affirmed that for past many years, health benefits of folate are known.

It is said that folate, along with other B vitamin, help in breaking down homocysteine, an amino acid, that has the ability to damage the inner walls of arteries. It can increase the risk of stroke or heart disease.

The researchers also noticed that the reduced risk of facing a stroke due to folic acid was the most in people having low baseline folate levels. "Fruits and vegetables are important sources of folate in the diet, and they also bring lots of other benefits, such as potassium and phytonutrients, that also help lower cardiovascular disease", affirmed Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.