Help Prevent Birth Defects by Getting Enough Folic Acid in Diet

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BY LEA WALLS

BLUE RIDGE HEALTHCARE

For years, health care officials have touted the benefits of folic acid, but how much do you know about this man-made form of the vitamin?

Folate, a form of a particular B vitamin found in foods, is the generic term for all forms of this vitamin. Foods naturally high in folate include beans, citrus fruits, liver, organ meats, peanuts and other legumes, peas, spinach and other dark greens, strawberries, wheat germ and yeast breads.

Of particular importance to women is the fact that taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy can prevent between 50 percent and 70 percent of some forms of neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly.

Neural tube defects affect approximately 4,000 pregnancies each year with spina bifida the most common defect and the leading cause of childhood paralysis. Anencephaly affects the brain and is always fatal.

New research is showing that folic acid also decreases other birth defects, such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

Other health benefits of folic acid are reduction in cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. In combination with vitamins B12 and B6, folic acid can help prevent recurrence of blocked arteries in patients who had angioplasty, a procedure to unblock the heart).

Folic acid may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and emerging research shows that a deficiency in folic acid can increase the brain’s susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease.

In 1992, the United States Public Health Service recommended that all women of childbearing years to take 400 micrograms (0.4mg) of folic acid daily to prevent a pregnancy with neural tube defect, preferably by a daily multi-vitamin. While it is possible to obtain this folic acid dosage in foods, it is very difficult. Surprisingly, the human body absorbs the synthetic form of folic acid better than the natural form called “folate.”

In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration required the addition of folic acid to enriched breads, cereals, flours, pastas, rice and other grain products.

As a special note, Hispanic babies are at a higher risk for severe neural tube birth defects (1 1/2 to 2 times) than non-Hispanic whites. Hispanic women have the lowest reported folic acid consumption of any race or ethnic group.

Here are some helpful definitions:

• Spina bifida - A congenital defect in which the spinal column is imperfectly closed so that part of the meninges or spinal cord protrudes, often resulting in hydrocephalus and other neurological disorders.
• Anencephaly - An absence of most of the brain and spinal cord.
• Cleft Lip - A congenital deformity characterized by a vertical cleft or pair of clefts in the upper lip, with or without involvement of the palate.
• Cleft Palate - A congenital fissure in the roof of the mouth, resulting from incomplete fusion of the palate during embryonic development. It may involve only the uvula or extend through the entire palate.
• Alzheimer’s disease - A disease marked by the loss of cognitive ability, generally over a period of 10 to 15 years, and associated with the development of abnormal tissues and protein deposits in the cerebral cortex.
• Parkinson’s disease - A progressive nervous disease occurring most often after the age of 50, associated with the destruction of brain cells that produce dopamine and characterized by muscular tremor, slowing of movement, partial facial paralysis, peculiarity of gait and posture, and weakness.

Lea Walls is Director of Women’s and Children’s Services at Blue Ridge HealthCare.

The second largest employer in Burke County, Blue Ridge HealthCare serves a four-county area and includes Grace and Valdese hospitals, Blue Ridge Home HealthCare, Grace Heights and College Pines Health & Rehabilitation Centers, Grace Ridge Retirement Community, Phifer Wellness Center and a number of physician practices.