PROVEN TO DECREASE BIRTH DEFECTS YET MANY WOMEN ESPECIALLY PREGNANT WOMEN DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE VITAMIN FOLATE

Imagine that scientists had discovered a miraculous substance that women could take which had the power to lessen neurological defects in their baby. Women would probably race to their pharmacy to buy it! Actually scientists have already discovered that substance. It's called folate or folic acid. FOLATE IS A VITAMIN THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN TO LOWER THE INCIDENCE OF SPINA BIFIDA AND NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN BABIES. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN RECOMMENDING IT FOR YEARS...... THERE IS JUST ONE PROBLEM..... Many women STILL don't know about folate and even more are not taking it!



"Folate is a B vitamin found in a variety of foods and added to many vitamin and mineral supplements as folic acid, a synthetic form of folate. Folate is needed both before and in the first weeks of pregnancy and can help reduce the risk of certain serious and common birth defects called neural tube defects, which affect the brain and spinal cord. Folic acid is a B vitamin that helps cells grow and also helps to make DNA and protein. It is very important in helping the embryo to develop because it is essential for the rapid cell division needed to make tissues and organs in the embryo and fetus. Folate and folic acid are different terms for the same B vitamin. While these two terms are often used interchangeably, there are some differences between them. Folate is the B vitamin form found naturally in foods. Folic acid is not found in natural food sources. Folic acid is the synthetic B vitamin form that is used in vitamin supplements and added to fortified foods. Synthetic folic acid is absorbed more easily than natural food folate.



The tricky part is that neural tube defects can occur in an embryo before a woman realizes she's pregnant. That's why it's important for all women of childbearing age (15 to 45) to include folate in their diets. If they get pregnant, it reduces the chance of the baby having a birth defect of the brain or spinal cord."

How Folate Can Help Prevent Birth Defects

WOMEN STILL DON'T REALIZE HOW GREAT FOLATE IS

"Between 1995 and 2002, awareness of the term folic acid increased from 52 percent to 80 percent within the reproductive-age women population. YET JUST TWENTY PERCENT OF WOMEN KNEW THAT FOLIC ACID COULD PREVENT BIRTH DEFECTS.
More alarming is that 90 percent of physicians who responded to a survey conducted in Florida (CDC, unpublished data, 2002) knew that folic acid consumption is linked to neurological tube defects, but only a limited proportion could identify the recommended daily intake of 400mg for the general population; moreover, an even smaller percentage could state the recommended dose of 4,000 mg for women of high risk.

Folic Acid Page at Center for Disease Control