Until very recently medical science was sadly unable to ferret out the cause and effect relationship between the absence of folic acid in the diets of pregnant women and the incidence of neural tube defect in their offspring. The exact timeframe in which this defect can potentially occur is between the 21st and 27th day of gestation.



The simple omission of this single nutrient was responsible for severe and lifelong suffering of countless children who were born with spina bifida or anencephaly. Anencephaly is a defect in which the cerebrum is missing causing profound loss of functionality.

Spina bifida is a disorder which involves the failure of the spine to close during gestation. It was estimated that one in every 1000 births were at one time affected with spina bifida. Those born with this condition require surgery to close the spine or they will die. Even with surgery they are often crippled and mentally retarded.

Until the development of ultrasound technology, which now detects a fetus with this condition, the hapless parents were not aware of the child’s defect until its birth.

The Food and Drug Administration(FDA) decided that the importance of folic acid was so great that all grain products in the U.S. have been required to be enriched with folic acid since 1998. It is now estimated that cases of NTD have been reduced by 60% to 100% when folic acid is supplemented for a period of one month before and one month after pregnancy begins.

Folic acid is extremely important because of its use by the human body in production of DNA and RNA. Its absence is also associate with other defects such as heart defects and limb malformations.

Although folates are necessary for all persons the medical community is especially concerned with adequate folic acid intake in women who may become pregnant. It is for that reason that women of child bearing age are encouraged by the United States Public Health Service to take 400 micrograms of folic acid per day.

This is the same Recommended Dietary Allowance(RDA) as men have but the emphasis is greater for women of child-bearing age.

The RDA for pregnant women is 600 mcg of folic acid per day. Food sources of folates include green leafy vegetables, lentils, garbanzo beans, orange juice and fortified breakfast cereals.

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