Folate is a vitamin B9. It is the natural form of vitamin B9. It is water-soluble vitamin and has a complex structure that affects its absorption. It is an essential vitamin for proper cell Growth and embryo development.
It is naturally found in foods like: lentils, beans, asparagus, spinach, turnip greens, and broccoli.
Folic acid is the synthetic form of vitamin B9. It is added to foods and utilized in vitamin supplements
The intestine can absorb folic acid better than folate and it is processed more efficiently in the body.
Availability of folic acid is estimated to be about twice that of food folate.
Folate deficiency has been linked to several adverse health outcomes. Neural tube defects are one of the commonest
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In 1991, CDC endorsed that women with a previous NTD-impacted pregnancy should ingest 4000 µg of folic acid daily beginning at the time they start arranging a pregnancy [7]
Food fortification with vitamins and minerals is a practice started in 1920s with iodization of salt, milk fortification with in 1930, enrichment of flour and bread in the forties, and calcium fortification in the eighties. [8]
In 1992, the Public Health Service recommended that all women of childbearing age ingest 400 µg of folic acid daily to hinder NTDs through fortress, supplementation, and food. [9]
In the United States, required fortress of enriched grain items with folic acid was approved in 1996 and completely executed in 1998. [10] In 1998, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) endorsed that women who are able to be pregnant should ingest 400 µg of folic acid in a daily manner from fortified food and or supplements as well as through an ordinary eating regime. [11]
In order to serve the purpose of obtaining epidemiological data regarding the Prevalence of folate deficiency and intake, a research in PubMed using any and/or a combination of the following words: (folate, folic acid, intake, nutrition, survey, prevalence, United States, women, NTD, global) was utilized. 5 studies were selected that reflect
13. The effect on the folate concentration was that the exposed group again had lower levels then the non-exposed group.
In Canada, a clinical study by De Wals et al was performed to assess whether or not folic acid fortification has an effect on the recurrence of NTDs (neural tube defects), especially on upper and lower birth defects called spina bifida (De Wals et al., 2008). The study was performed in three different regions in Canada: the eastern, western and central provinces (De Wals et al., 2008). Furthermore, the population of the study was conducted on three different types of births which were livebirths, stillbirths, and termination of pregnancies, and the study was carried out through three periods included prefortification, partial fortification and full fortifications (De Wals et al., 2008). The researchers followed the scientific investigation
It is recommended that all women of childbearing age take folic acid daily. The usual dosage is 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) daily taken before getting pregnant and 4 mg a day before getting pregnant if you had a child with an NTD.
The recommended intake of folate (B9) is 400 micrograms (µg) in dietary folate equivalents (DFEs). My average consumption was well over that target. In the average of three days, I received 1148 µg DFE. Even though there is no evidence suggesting that an ample dose of naturally occurring folate presents any risks of toxicity, there is an upper limit in place of 1000 µg a day. Long term consequences of a folate rich diet include a difficulty in detecting a vitamin B12 deficiency and a decreased risk of having a newborn with spina bifida or anencephaly. Large intakes of folate alleviate symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiencies but can also obscure it. The majority of my folate intake came from breakfast cereal (contributing to 70% of my intake).
The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for all men and women 14 and older is 400 mcg. Men often don’t realize this as the benefits to pregnant women are more publicized, but any human being is in need of proper amounts of folic acid to insure the body is able to create new red blood cells to nourish the
Folate is a necessary vitamin part of the B complex group, not synthesized de novo, but consumed through foods such as leafy green vegetables (Djukic, 2007). In the developing fetus, folate transport across the placenta is regulated by reduced-folate-carriers and folate receptor proteins, which allow large folate requirements needed for high cell proliferation rates to be met. Both also show an increased pattern of expression during neural tube closure, indicating that folate has a crucial role in CNS development (Djukic, 2007). Fleming and Copp (1998) demonstrated this by successfully treating mice embryos predisposed to neural tube defects using folic acid supplements. The mechanism of its action on neural tube development is currently still not fully understood. However it is known that folate is crucial for
Persistent medical research and prenatal studies on folic acid uncover amazing protection abilities to a woman’s fetus. The finding offer prevention against life-threatening birth defects to the brain and spine. Facts show that by consuming the RDA of folic acid before conception and through the first month of pregnancy can help to prevent more than 70 percent of neural tube birth defects (NTD).
Toward the middle of the 1900s, a compound called folic acid was synthesized to mimic a compound in the pteroylgutamate family, known as Folate. Folate is found naturally in foods such as kale, spinach and other leafy greens, but folic acid does not exist in nature and must be artificially created. This artificial substance had never before been used in the human diet, but in 1998 the Food and Drug Agency legislated that widely consumed products such as breads, cereals, and many other commercial grains be fortified with this compound. The driving force for this legislation came as a result of the wide spread prevalence of neural tube defects, spinabifida and other developmental issues resulting from deficiency.
There are two major forms of folate that can be obtained in the diet: folate and folic acid. Folate is found naturally in foods and tissues while folic acid is found in fortified foods and supplements. While folate has a lower bioavailability, there is a higher absorption rate for folic acid. In the metabolic pathway, folate or folic acid is converted into tetrahydrofolate (THF) by dihydrofolate reductase to be functionally active. Then, 5,10-methylene THF is generated from THF by serine transhydroxymethylase and transformed into 5-methyl THF by MTHFR, which is the major circulating and storage form of serum or plasma folate. With 5-methyl THF coupled to vitamin B12, methionine is produced to convert into SAM and participate in DNA methylation via DNMT. In addition, 5,10- methylene can also be converted back into DHF, regulating the conversion of duMP into dTMP via TS for DNA synthesis. However, when maternal folate status declines during pregnancy, cellular 5-mTHF, THF and methylene THF decreases and homocysteine build up in blood. With increasing level of homocysteine, DNA synthesis impairs and can result in pregnancy complications such as placental abruption, preeclampsia, and habitual spontaneous
However the professor explains that the pregnant women need to eat substantial amount of bread to get adequate amount of folic acid. He states that there is a concern about the adult population who eat additional amount of folic acid in their diet, those people are going to face serious problems like pre neoplastic tumor. If they add a regular amount of folic acid in their diet, they will not face any adverse effect.
• nutrition B9, which may also be referred to as folic acid is determined in inexperienced leafy veggies and it's greatly fundamental for healthful DNA synthesis.
Taking a daily dose helps with positive prenatal care for you and your baby. Folic acid helps avoid birth defects in your children.
Taking vitamin pills plays a positive role for both pregnant women and women trying to get pregnant because the amount of folic acid they are advised to consume each day will help fertility and the development of the baby. The advised amount of folic acid for pregnant women is four hundred micrograms which clashes with the amount of folic acid we consume in our daily diet which is only two hundred, thus folic acid vitamin pills would compensate for the extra two hundred micrograms needed. There are certain vitamins that can contribute to the lack of
In Australia, the reasonableness and effectiveness of folic acid being mandatorily fortified to support healthy pregnancy when considering the occurrence of NTDS in Australian children due to the amount their mothers have consumed of folic acid during pregnancy. The main purpose for creating a mandatory policy to include folic acid to the wheat flour of non-organic bread in Australia is to reduce the incidence of NTDs across the nation. Substantial rates of NTDs occur worldwide as significantly more folate is needed early in pregnancy than in other life stages. This early stage of pregnancy is often when women are unaware that they are pregnant. The folate is required for the development of the embryonic neural tube, which develops into
It is a recognised certainty that nutrition is a fundamental requirement to sustain a healthy lifestyle and is also extremely valuable when recovering from an illness or an injury. Nutrients are absorbed in the body and this physiological process is essential for homeostasis and ensuring equilibrium is sustained within the body as without enough food and drink the body will not function correctly (Edwards & Thomas, 2009). This essay will provide information on folic acid and its properties, its role and the midwife’s role and responsibility in informing women in the early stages of pregnancy