Every year, the first week in January is recognized as National Folic Acid Awareness Week – a part of National Birth Defects Prevention Month. Folate (vitamin B9) is a water-soluble micronutrient that plays an important role in women’s reproductive health and the prevention of neural birth defects (i.e., defects of the baby’s brain and spinal cord). Folate, which is naturally occurring in whole foods, is often interchangeably called folic acid which is the synthetic version commonly used in enriched foods.
Folate is a very powerful micronutrient which the body uses for cell growth and metabolism. Folate deficiency can result in anemia (low number of red blood cells) in adults, and neural tube defects such as anencephaly and spina bifida in the developing fetus. A baby’s neural tube closes within the first few weeks of pregnancy (3-4 weeks after conception), often before the mother even knows she is pregnant. Thus, women need to start consuming folic acid before and during early pregnancy to support the placenta and increase the baby’s chances of proper brain and spinal cord development.
The daily value of dietary folate equivalents (DFE) for all women of reproductive age 15-45 years is 400 micrograms (mcg). When you are pregnant, you need 600 mcg of folic acid each day. It is difficult to get this much folic acid from a balanced diet alone, therefore supplementing using a daily prenatal vitamin with at least 400 mcg is required, starting at least 1 month before pregnancy and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Waiting until the first prenatal visit (typically, the 6th to 12th week of pregnancy) to start folic acid consumption will not prevent neural tube defects. Additionally, women who are at increased risk of neural tube defects require a larger dose of daily folic acid. This includes women who have already had a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect; it is recommended that these women consume 4,000 mcg or 4 milligrams (mg) of folic acid each day 3 months before becoming pregnant and through the first 3 months of pregnancy.
Folic acid is also linked to other health outcomes such as reduction of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, and reduction of total blood arsenic levels limiting arsenic poisoning in countries that have chronic exposure to arsenic in drinking water. So, whether or not you are planning to get pregnant, folate is important for you!
Good sources of folate include:
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Green leafy vegetables
Peas, beans, and whole grains
Cereals fortified with folic acid
Over the counter multivitamin supplements containing folic acid
Did you know?
B vitamins are easily destroyed by heat and alcohol except in broccoli.
Cooked broccoli actually contains more B9 than raw broccoli does.
Quite an exception to the rule!
How can you make sure that you are taking enough folic acid?
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the new nutrition facts label will use mcg DFE as the unit of measure for folate.
1 – Folate is shown as mcg DFE and as a %DV
2 – Folic acid is shown in parenthesis and is important for individuals who could become pregnant
Remember:
- 5% DV or less of folate per serving means the product is low in folate.
- 20% DV or more of folate per serving means the product is high in folate.
As the saying goes “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”. Let’s do our part to reduce the chances of our babies being born with some possibly preventable illnesses. Share this article with a friend to create awareness! If you have any specific questions concerning your reproductive health, please reach out to your primary care physician or OBGYN.
Need more information on folic acid? You can read more about it HERE.