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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month. The theme for 2015 is: Making Healthy Choices to Prevent Birth Defects. Did you know eating cereal for breakfast is a simple healthy choice you can make to have a healthy baby? Fortified, ready-to-eat cereals are a major source of folic acid (a B vitamin) in the US. Since 1998, in the US and Canada, bread, cereal, pasta, rice and flour have been fortified with folic acid. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates this has prevented over 1,300 cases of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) annually in the US for a health care saving of $508 million a year (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6401a2.htm), in addition to eliminating suffering and disability for affected infants.
NTDs occur within the first weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman actually knows she is pregnant. At the beginning of pregnancy the neural tube forms in the spine and brain. When the spinal column does not close all the way it can lead to spina bifida. Babies born with spina bifida have permanent disabling defects with lifelong effects.
Babies born with anencephaly, neural tube defects of the brain, often die shortly after birth.
Adequate intakes of the B vitamin, folic acid, can remarkably reduce the risks for NTDs. Folic acid helps to make the genetic material of every cell in the body so it is essential to the healthy growth of an unborn child. Pregnant women who take in too little folic acid have a higher risk of babies born with cleft palates, cleft lips and NTDs. They also have more miscarriages. That’s why experts recommend women get adequate folic acid, but unfortunately, many still don’t. Even with folic acid fortification, close to one-quarter of women of childbearing age in the US do not reach the daily recommendation of 400 micrograms. And, Dads need to consider their folic acid intake, too. Research (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11872201, http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/03/19_folatesperm.shtml) has shown that men with low sperm counts and more fragile sperm have low intakes of folic acid. So when it comes to a healthy pregnancy, adequate folic acid levels are important for both parents.
Since the folic acid fortification program started, it’s estimated that the average American is getting 200 micrograms more folic acid a day, but that still falls short of the 400 micrograms recommended for adults. Good sources of folic acid include:
- Green leafy vegetables (spinach, Brussels sprouts, kale, collards, beet greens, romaine lettuce, arugula)
- Orange juice
- Beans
- Avocado
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Sunflower seeds
- Wheat germ
- Peanuts
- Fortified bread, pasta, cereal, flour and rice
Most experts recommend getting folic acid from a variety of sources, food in which it is naturally found, fortified foods, and supplements too, when needed.
Women who might become pregnant need to get ample folic acid for at least 4 to 6 weeks before conception and should continue to take the supplement for at least the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Since half of all pregnancies are unplanned, it is wise for all young women to take folic acid or a vitamin supplement containing folic acid. Many do not. It is estimated that two-thirds of women do not take vitamins containing folic acid and 3,000 pregnancies annually are still affected by NTDs.
Hispanic are 20% more likely to have a baby with NTDs. Experts speculate that part of this increased risk may be due to the use of corn masa flour which does not fall under the folic acid fortification program. Including corn masa flour in the fortification program is under consideration at this time (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24142499). Another issue that young women need to consider is the use of gluten-free eating patterns. Because gluten-free products exclude wheat, many contain little or no folic acid, which significantly lowers a woman’s intake of this vital vitamin.
Folic acid facts you should know:
- Smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke reduces your body’s levels of folic acid.
- Cooking can destroy 50 to 90% of the folic acid in food. Eat folate-rich foods uncooked or cook them quickly by steaming, stir-frying or microwaving in small amounts of water.
- A number of studies have shown that those with depression often have low folic acid levels. Supplemental folic acid can improve depression. Adequate folic acid might help women at risk for post-partum depression (http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v66/n1/full/ejcn2011136a.html).
- Women who have adequate folic acid before conception can reduce the possibility of NTDs by as much as 70%.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with sales of more than 8.5 million books.
Look for:
The Diabetes Counter, 5th Ed., 2014
The Fat and Cholesterol Counter, 2014
The Most Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2013
The Calorie Counter, 6th Ed., 2013
The Complete Food Counter, 4th ed., 2012
The Protein Counter, 3rd Ed., 2011
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
Your Complete Food Counter App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-complete-food-counter/id444558777?mt=8
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.
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