Even just one week on a plant-based diet can drop elevated homocysteine levels by 20 percent, from around 11 µmol/L to 9 µmol/L,5338 which is a normal level for those replete with B vitamins.5339 This may be directly due to the folate-rich vegetables and beans or indirectly due to the fiber in the plants. Every 1 g of daily fiber consumption may increase folate levels in our blood by nearly 2 percent, perhaps by boosting folate production in the colon by all our friendly gut bacteria.
