Folic Acid for Pregnancy Days
Folic Acid for Pregnancy Days
Folic acid is a vitamin (B9) soluble in water. During pregnancy it is required for the production and maintenance of cells in the body of the pregnant woman, and to replicate DNA. A women’s body requires folic acid for making new cells for her baby, so every women needs folic acid for the healthy development of the new cells of her baby’s body. The Folic acid deficiency causes DNA synthesis and division of the cell, affecting the bone marrow. Folic acid plays an important part for all pregnant women. The intake of adequate folic acid during the time just before and after the pregnancy helps to protect against congenital malformation and neural tube defects in babies. The neural tube defects cause malformations of the spine, brain and skull. However the consumption of folic acid in addition to a healthy diet in the first month of conception reduces the risk of neural tube defects. Folic acid is found in green leafy vegetables like turnip greens, spinach, dried beans, peas, sunflower seeds, cereals, French beans, legumes, peanuts, white flour, enriched cornmeal, berries, grapefruit, cantaloupe, banana and other fruits like orange.
Women who are pregnant should eat fortified foods with folic acid to reduce serious birth defects. Folic acid is required in the diet of pregnant women because it works best for the baby and the mother. The women who are planning to have a baby in the future should take adequate folic acid from this moment because by the time they are pregnant, the baby’s brain and spine are already started forming. Information on nutrition food and dietary supplements help women to determine about the adequate intake of folic acid during pregnancy. The intake of folic acid before pregnancy should be 400 micrograms or 0.4 milligrams and 800 micrograms or 0.8 milligrams during pregnancy. Folic acid makes extra blood which is required in the time of pregnancy. Folic acid also plays an important part in the fertility of both men and women. In women it contributes to oocyte maturation, placentation and implantation.
Apart from preventing birth defects, the intake of folic acid has other benefits as well. Consuming folic acid containing (B9) with every meal does neutralize the formation of toxic homocysteine in the blood stream which reduces the risk of heart diseases like stroke and other type of vascular diseases. It has been discovered that intake of folic acid helps to prevent cancer, because it plays an important part in the synthesis and functioning of DNA, repair. Diets with high folic acid decrease the risk of colorectal cancer as against folic acid supplements. Supplements do not reduce the risk of colorectal adenomas, because the association of folic acid is stronger in natural foods.
Folic acid is required urgently for all pregnant women and plays an important role in building of tissues and cells that divide rapidly. Cancer cells divide rapidly and folic acid can interfere with it, so folic acid is used to treat cancer. Medical research also suggests that diets high in folic acid decrease the risk of breast cancer.
