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Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Right Levels of Folate Could Deter Birth Defects
A water-soluble vitamin found naturally in the food chain called folate could, if consumed in proper amounts, dramatically reduce birth defects and provide added protection against heart disease and cancer.
Folate, which helps produce and maintain new cells, is an especially key component to good health during times of rapid cell growth such as during pregnancy or in the formative years of young children.
Although more than one-third of folate in the American diet comes from fruits and vegetables, other important sources include grain products, legumes, nuts, and folate supplements. In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially recognized the importance of folate in a healthy diet when it mandated that breads and flour be fortified with that vitamin.
Important facts about the vitamin folate include:
* The FDA recommends that adults consume 400 micrograms of folate daily
* The FDA’s 1998 decision to add folate in some store-bought foods was the first such mandate since 1943 when it was determined that B vitamins thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin be added to some foods
* People most in need of folate are pregnant and lactating women, those who abuse alcohol, those on dialysis, ones with kidney or liver diseases, and persons suffering from some types of anemia
* By far, the biggest natural source of folate is chicken liver, with fortified cereals, beef liver, lentils, chickpeas, asparagus, spinach, and black beans all good sources as well
* Green vegetables also are good sources of folate, as are fruits such as oranges, strawberries, and melons
* Adequate levels of folate, or folate acid, immediately before and shortly after a woman becomes pregnant greatly reduces the potential for neural tube defects that lead to malformation of the unborn child’s spine, skull, or brain
* Folate governs the amount of homocysteine in the blood stream; homocysteine being an amino acid that’s linked to coronary heart disease when found in elevated amounts in the blood
* Excess folate consumption can trigger symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency; B12 being a companion vitamin to folate that’s needed to help manufacture the body’s DNA and maintain healthy nerve and red blood cells
* Folate deficiency can result in the slow overall growth of children, digestive disorders, loss of appetite, and /or weight loss
* Low levels of folate have been linked to cancer, especially breast, pancreatic, and colon cancer
One outcome of folate deficiency is that the body can make large red blood cells that don’t contain adequate hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the body’s cells.
The American Heart Association says that fortifying bread and flour products with folate is a significant factor in the 10 to 15 percent reduction of stroke and ischemic heart disease that has been witnessed since 1998. The National Center for Health Statistics notes an even larger reduction in neural tube birth defects since the folate law was instituted.
Kept within high and low boundaries, folate could be a factor in any person’s better health.
By Rocky Wilson author of Sharene -- Death: A Prerequisite For Life
