Folic Acid
What is folic
acid?
Why is folic acid important for women?
How can women get enough folic acid?
Also
See:
Pregnancy and
Nutrition
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What is folic acid?
Folic acid is one of
the B vitamins. It is found in citrus fruits, leafy green vegetables, and
fortified cereals, breads, and grain products.
Why is folic
acid important for women?
Each year in the
U.S., 4,000 pregnancies are affected by birth defects of the spine and
brain, called spina bifida and anencephaly. Spina bifida is a defect of
the spinal column that occurs during the first 28 days of pregnancy. It
can lead to serious disabilities, such as deformities in the knees or
feet, paralysis in the feet and legs, incontinence, learning disabilities,
and mental retardation. Babies with anencephaly do not develop a brain or
only develop a partial brain. These babies die either before birth or
shortly afterwards.
The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention estimate that up to 3,000 of these neural
tube birth defects could be prevented each year if women consumed folic
acid each day before pregnancy and during the early months of pregnancy.
Since half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are not planned, many women may
not find out that they are pregnant until well after the ideal time to
prevent these birth defects. As a result, the Public Health Service
recommends that all women of childbearing age consume 0.4 mg of folic acid
each day to prevent spina bifida and anencephaly.
Folic acid is also
important for women at every age, because it helps prevent heart disease
and stroke. However, too much folic acid can mask the symptoms of vitamin
B12 deficiency, which affects one in five people ages 65 to 95 years. So,
the recommended level of folic acid does not go above one mg per day.
How can women get
enough folic acid?
Basically, foods
rich in folic acid are also those that help make up a healthy diet. These
include grain products like bread, rice, pasta, and breakfast
cereals-which following a new FDA rule now are enriched with additional
folic acid. Dark green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits like oranges and
lemons, most types of berries, dried peas, beans, and lentils are also
naturally rich in folic acid. Many multi-vitamins, especially those
recommended for pregnant women, contain folic acid.
from
The Office On Women's Health - US Department of Health and Human Services
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