Folic Acid
Awareness Week is January 4 - 10, 2010
Do you think that you are getting all
of the vitamins you need from your diet alone? You may not be getting
enough folic acid. Folic acid is an essential B vitamin and everyone
needs it in order to stay in good health. Folic acid is found in foods
like
 green
vegetables, fruits and juices. Some foods like cereal and bread have
folic acid added to them. A diet with a lot of folic acid is good for
you, but most people do not get enough through food alone. The best way
to get the right amount is to take a multivitamin with folic acid every
day.
Folic acid helps build DNA and your body uses it for cell
growth and reproduction. Folic acid is water soluble and passes through
your body quickly. Therefore, taking folic acid daily ensures that you
always have it in your system.
Folic acid helps:
- Prevent neural tube defects
- Reduces the risks of certain cancers
- Reduces the risks of cardiovascular diseases
including coronary heart disease and stroke
- Reduces the risks of conditions such as
Alzheimer’s disease and age-related dementia
Folic acid is especially important
for women of child bearing age. Taking folic acid before pregnancy
reduces the risk of birth defects of the brain and spine, called neural
tube defects, by up to 70%. The most common neural tube defects are
Spina
 Bifida
and anencephaly. Since 50 percent of pregnancies are not planned, it is
important to take folic acid everyday even if you are not planning to
get pregnant. Neural tube defects occur in the first weeks of fetal
development, often before a woman even knows she is pregnant. Women in
their childbearing years should take 400 mcg (micrograms) of folic acid
daily.
Hispanic babies are 1.5 to 2 times more likely than others in
the United States to be born with a neural tube defect. The CDC reports
that Latinas in the United States consume the least amount of folic acid
and have the least knowledge about folic acid among racial or ethnic
groups in this country.
Folic Acid Awareness Week is January 4 – 10. Make a New
Year’s resolution to start taking a multivitamin with 400 mcg of folic
acid daily, especially if you are of childbearing age. Starting folic
acid before pregnancy begins is an important way to reduce the risk of
brain or spine birth defects by up to 70 percent.
For more information about folic acid and National Folic Acid Awareness
Week, visit
www.folicacidinfo.org.
 print
this page
www.doh.state.fl.us
Palm Beach County:
Florenzia Davis, PhD,MS,RD,LD/N
Senior Public Health Nutritionist
(561) 671-4000 x 4048
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