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Vitamin B Folic Acid (Vitamin-B9).
Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin that plays a central role as a coenzyme in regulating cellular metabolism and cell division.
Folic acid helps form building blocks of DNA, the body's genetic information, and building blocks of RNA needed for protein synthesis in all cells. This means that rapidly growing tissues - such as those of a fetus - and rapidly regenerating cells - like red blood cells and immune cells - have a high need for folic acid.
The requirement for folic acid increases during pregnancy. Deficiencies of folic acid during pregnancy are associated with low birth weight and an increased incidence of neural tube defects, such as anencephaly and spina bifida. In one study, women who were at high risk of giving birth to babies with neural tube defects were able to lower their risk by as much as 72% by taking folic acid supplements prior to and during pregnancy. Medical experts, other healthcare professionals, and the March of Dimes recommend that all women of childbearing age supplement with 400 mcg per day of folic acid. Such supplementation would protect against the formation of neural tube defects during the time between conception and when pregnancy is discovered. If a woman waits until after pregnancy to begin taking folic acid supplements, it may be too late to prevent a neural tube defect.
Folic acid deficiency has also been associated with high homocysteine levels and an increased risk for stroke, heart disease, and cognitive diseases like Alzheimer's disease. Epidemiological studies have shown a strong correlation between folic acid deficiency and risk for certain cancers. A folic acid deficiency may also result in a form of anemia (which can be swiftly remedied with supplementation).
It is difficult to accurately estimate how much folic acid is present in food. The best food sources are vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, legumes), nuts, and seeds.
*It is important to remember that even the best food choices generally will not supply all the folic acid you need. Folic acid from dietary supplements and food fortification (synthetic form) is preferentially absorbed and utilized over natural food folates that must go through several conversion processes to be utilized as folic acid. To reach required daily intakes, it is important to take a multivitamin containing a minimum of 0.4 mg of folic acid daily.
For additional information (including a list of references), please refer to the folic acid technical bulletin at
http://www.usana.com/dotCom/company/science/components.
Additional Resources:
Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Folate (from the National Institute of Health) Folic acid (folate) - U.S. National Library of Medicine Folic acid - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Folic acid - American Pregnancy Association Folic acid - American Cancer Society Folic acid - Wikipedia Folic acid - Linus Pauling Institute