Folic acid is a man-made form of folate, a B vitamin that occurs naturally in some foods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that all women of childbearing age get at least 400 micrograms of folic acid every day to prevent several health problems for themselves or their babies.
Identification
In 1996, the United States launched an initiative to fortify many common foods with folic acid to ensure that one serving provides the recommended daily intake. The fortified foods include grain products like bread and breakfast cereal. Food with naturally occurring folate include lentils, beans, peas, leafy green vegetables and nuts.
Function
Eating foods with folic acid helps prevent anemia by promoting development of healthy red blood cells. Folic acid also plays an important role in healthy fetal development, because it helps prevent neural tube defects that can occur when a baby's developing spine, brain and nervous system fail to develop normally. Two of the most common forms of neural tube defects are spinal bifida and anencephaly. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that folic acid may also help prevent some forms of cancer, age-related hearing loss and Alzheimer's disease, though there's not enough clinical evidence to prove those benefits definitively.
Benefits
Many neural tube defects occur before women even know they are pregnant--usually between the 17th and 30th day after conception, just four to six weeks after a woman's last period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only half of women who become pregnant are trying to conceive, so maintaining a diet with the recommended amount of folic acid protects you in case you do become pregnant.
Significance
Researchers at the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities found that the reduction in neural tube defects because of folic acid fortification created an economic benefit of $312 million to $425 million, or a cost savings of as much as $145 million per year, including medical expenses and related health costs. This was reported in a 2005 study published in the "American Journal of Public Health."
Considerations
If you are pregnant, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends increasing your daily folic acid intake to 600 micrograms per day to ensure you get the maximum protective benefits. It also recommends that breastfeeding women get 500 micrograms of folic acid every day. Many breakfast cereals are fortified with 400 to 600 micrograms of folic acid per serving, which can meet your daily needs. Including three servings of folate-rich foods each day, such as spinach, lentils and chickpeas, will also help you meet your daily folic acid needs. If you have low levels of B-12, usually because of advancing age or a diet with no animal products, it's possible that consuming too much folic acid could cause nerve damage. A normal B-12 range is between 200 and 900 picograms per milliliter (pg/mL); people whose B-12 levels are lower than 200 pg/mL should talk with their doctors about the best way to increase their folic acid intake.
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