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Fabulous Folic Acid
A Tool to Prevent Birth Defects
By Teri Brown
Did you know there's a vitamin so important to our health that an entire week has been devoted to it? January 9-15, 2006, has been designated National Folic Acid Awareness Week. The National Council on Folic Acid believes everybody should know just how many birth defects can be prevented with adequate amounts of folic acid.
Most doctors prescribe the vitamin to their pregnant patients, but studies are showing folic acid should be present before conception. Joanna Strong-Millsap from Redlands, Calif., began taking folic acid far before she decided to get pregnant.
"I began taking folic acid supplements when I got married, even though I knew we weren't even going to try to get pregnant for six months," says Strong-Millsap. "I continued taking it daily throughout my pregnancy and during breastfeeding for good measure."
After having been told of the wonders of folic acid, Strong-Millsap did some research and learned there is a very strong connection between the supplement and the prevention of birth defects. So just what is folic acid, and why does it work so well?
"Folic acid has been found to lower the risk for delivering an infant with neural tube defect and may also help protect against heart disease," says Dr. Vogler. "There are certain times in a person's life where having an adequate amount of folic acid is very important, one being pregnancy."
These birth defects occur very early in pregnancy, usually three to four weeks after conception. Dr. Vogler says because women often don't know they are pregnant at this time, it's extremely important they consume plenty of folic acid before pregnancy to protect their fetuses against birth defects.
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Fabulous Folic Acid by Anonymous on 02/09/2010 02:01PM
i wonder if its ok to take a vitamin everyday and take a folic acid tab?? any help?