Getting enough folate is crucial to prevent birth defects and premature delivery, synthesise and
repair DNA, and aid rapid cell division and growth in infancy and pregnancy. Required to produce red blood cells and prevent anaemia, this wonder vitamin is every woman’s health nurturer, says nutritionist Deepshikha Agarwal
If you never knew why your mom told you to eat your vegetables, you’re about to find out. Among the many vitamins and nutrients found in vegetables is folate, which is vital for growth and development. Vitamin B6 or folic acid also known as folacin and folate is a water soluble vitamin as opposed to a fat soluble vitamin. That means that folic acid is not stored by our body.
Know the benefits
Folic acid helps the body to make RNA and DNA, the body’s genetic material that contains all the code for new cells. Because of this role, deficiencies of folic acid can have really adverse effects especially during pregnancy, infancy and adolescence when the body is growing rapidly. This vitamin in combination with vitamin B12 is essential for the formation, maturation and multiplication of red blood cells. Therefore, a mild deficiency of it can cause serious anaemia in pregnant women and children. It is also required for manufacturing nerve cells and various nerve transmitters. It helps in building antibodies, which prevent and heal infections. Some clinicians believe that patients with low plasma folate levels do not respond to antidepressant treatment as well as those with adequate folate levels. Consequently, folate is believed to play an important role in regulating mood. It has anti-depressant properties or can act as an augmenting mediator for standard antidepressant treatment.
Keep your heart healthy
One of the essential sulphur-containing amino acids, the nutrient methionine is important for many of our bodily functions, including immune cell production and proper nerve function, and for the building of proteins and other vital chemical processes. Dietary methionine is a potent antioxidant and an important amino acid for your liver’s repair and rebuilding processes. Normally, homocysteine is converted to methionine, but our body needs the benefits of folic acid for this process. High levels of homocysteine in our bodies are responsible for an increase in the narrowing and hardening of our arteries leading to a heart attack or stroke. Thus folic acid is required to control the homocysteine levels and keep our heart healthy.
For a bonny baby
One of the most important things one can do to help prevent serious birth defects in the baby is to get enough folic acid every day—especially before conception and during early pregnancy. A pregnant woman should consume between 400-800 micrograms of folic acid every day. Repeated studies have shown that women who get 400 micrograms (0.4 milligram) daily prior to conception and during early pregnancy reduce the risk that their baby will be born with a serious neural tube defect (a birth defect involving incomplete development of the brain and spinal cord) by up to 70 per cent. It also decreases the chances of feeling dizzy or experiencing morning sickness during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Folic acid supplements seem to improve these physical signs of early pregnancy for some women. This vitamin is crucial in the development of DNA. As a result, folic acid plays a large role in cell growth and development, as well as tissue formation. Folate, taken early in pregnancy, also reduces the risk of other health problems in the foetus, such as brain tumours, cardiovascular problems, poor nerve development, and limb deformities. In fact, folic acid has proved beneficial in the treatment of recurrent abortions.
Eat the right food
Women should try consuming folic acid-rich foods like fortified breakfast cereals, enriched bread, eggs, rice, pasta and other grain products, orange juice, green vegetables like spinach, and legumes such as cow peas, kidney beans, lentils and chick peas. A large glass of orange juice and a bowl of fortified cereal will provide 50-100 per cent of the recommended daily amount of folic acid. Some health care providers even recommend taking a folic acid supplement in addition to your regular folic acid rich foods. Ensure that the intake is moderate and you do not overdose on it. With just the right amount of folic acid in your diet, you’ll be prepared way before you even plan a baby.
