Our Guide For The Benefits Of Folic Acid
Welcome to our Folic Acid Benefits guide.
A member of the B-vitamin family, folic acid is critical in preventing serious birth defects.
This essential nutrient can be found naturally in a wide variety of foods such as some breakfast cereals, orange juice, leafy green vegetables and beans.
The benefits of folic acid have gained critical importance in recent years.
Specifically, the benefits of folic acid include the ability to prevent birth defects that occur extremely early in pregnancy, usually before a woman is even aware that she is pregnant. Birth defects such as Spina
bifida and anencephaly result from a deficiency of folic acid in the mother in
the early weeks of the pregnancy, usually around week four or five.
A woman usually does not even learn she is pregnant until about week four or later, when it is too late to do anything about the birth defect.
Spina Bifada occurs as a result of the inability of the spine to close properly. The child is then born with paralysis and the inability to control their bowel and bladder as they grow older. These children are also at risk for developmental delays and frequent infections.
Anencephaly is a tragic condition in which a child’s brain does not develop properly inside a usually partially developed skull.
Encephalocele is a similar birth defect where the baby is born with a gap in the skull. Brain tissue may jut out of the breach in the
skull. These children usually suffer from mental disabilities.
Folic acid benefits are certainly outweighed by the side effects; however savvy consumers should be aware that there have been reports of some allergic reactions occurring with folic acid intake as well as stomach upset and changes in sleep patterns.
Some individuals have reported a sense of impaired judgment and confusion while taking folic acid. Folic acid also interferes with the body’s ability to retain and absorb vitamin B-12 and zinc. The most severe side effect related to folic acid appears to be its ability to lower the strength of anti-seizure medications.
Some multivitamins and folic acid supplements contain synthetic folic acid, rather than natural folic acid, because it is cheaper to manufacture. Although it is slightly more expensive, natural forms of folic acid are much more desirable. Natural folic acid has fewer reports of side effects and contributes better benefits of folic acid than synthetic forms.
You can read a more detailed report we created on folic acid here also.
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For further detailed information on folic acid, be sure to check out out folic acid article, and our folic acid benefits article.