Folic Acid News and Research

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Folic acid is a B vitamin. It helps the body make healthy new cells. Everyone needs folic acid. For women who may get pregnant, it is really important. When a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and during pregnancy, it can prevent major birth defects of her baby's brain or spine.

Foods with folic acid in them include leafy green vegetables, fruits, dried beans, peas and nuts. Enriched breads, cereals and other grain products also contain folic acid. If you don't get enough folic acid from the foods you eat, you can also take it as a dietary supplement.

Combined use of enalapril and folic acid can significantly reduce risk of first stroke

In a study that included more than 20,000 adults in China with high blood pressure but without a history of stroke or heart attack, the combined use of the hypertension medication enalapril and folic acid, compared with enalapril alone, significantly reduced the risk of first stroke, according to a study appearing in JAMA. The study is being released to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session.

16 Mar 2015

Too much folic acid during pregnancy puts daughters at risk of diabetes, obesity later in life

Mothers that take excessive amounts of folic acid during pregnancy may predispose their daughters to diabetes and obesity later in life, according to a new study published today in the Journal of Endocrinology. With high dose supplements being widely available, the study calls for a need to establish a safe upper limit of folic acid intake for pregnant women.

10 Feb 2015

Women’s risk factors for heart disease

Heart disease is often thought of as a health problem for men, but more and more women die of heart disease each year than men, and from any other disease including breast cancer.

4 Feb 2015

Iovate Health Sciences International introduces StrongGirl supplements for women

Iovate Health Sciences International has introduced StrongGirl, a new line of supplements created by women for women. Every StrongGirl product is formulated to deliver on the StrongGirl promise: StrongGirl supplements are designed to help the active woman achieve her goals and be the best version of herself, with premium nutrition and effective formulas to help her be beautiful and strong, both inside and out.

3 Feb 2015

Study: Iodine deficiency during pregnancy can impair child's intellectual development

Pregnant women in Austria commonly suffer from an iodine deficiency. This may have a negative impact on the development of their unborn child's brain. These are the key findings of a joint study by the Endocrinology and Metabolism Unit at the University Department of Internal Medicine III together with the University Department of Gynaecology at the MedUni Vienna and AGES, which have now been published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

20 Jan 2015

Report: Folic acid saves babies from neural tube defects

Fortifying grain foods with the B vitamin folic acid has saved about 1,300 babies every year from being born with serious birth defects of the brain and spine known as neural tube defects (NTDs), according to new data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

16 Jan 2015

Most Americans unaware of the positive benefits of folic acid

Each year, more than four million women in America give birth and 2,600 infants are born with neural tube defects.

6 Jan 2015

Vitamin B counteracts levels of DDT in women who are more likely to get, stay pregnant

Women who have adequate levels of B vitamins in their bodies are more likely to get and stay pregnant even when they also have high levels of a common pesticide known to have detrimental reproductive effects, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research.

5 Jan 2015

Multiple micronutrients for pregnant women does not reduce infant mortality compared to iron-folic acid

In Bangladesh, daily maternal supplementation of multiple micronutrients compared to iron-folic acid before and after childbirth did not reduce all-cause infant mortality to age 6 months, but did result in significant reductions in preterm birth and low birth weight, according to a study in the December 24/31 issue of JAMA.

24 Dec 2014

Multiple micronutrient supplement during pregnancy reduces pre-term births, increases infant birth weight

A multivitamin given daily to pregnant women in rural Bangladesh reduced pre-term births, increased infant birth weight and resulted in healthier babies overall, according to the large randomized trial conducted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers.

24 Dec 2014

Pregnant women lacking vitamin E nearly twice as likely to have miscarriage

Pregnant women in Bangladesh with low levels of the most common form of vitamin E are nearly twice as likely to have a miscarriage than those with adequate levels of the vitamin in their blood, according to new research led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

3 Dec 2014

Taking folic acid supplementation before conception reduces risk of SGA at birth

Taking folic acid before conception significantly reduces the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) at birth, suggests a new study published today (26 November) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

26 Nov 2014

Vitamin B12, folic acid supplements may not reduce risk of memory and thinking problems

Taking vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements may not reduce the risk of memory and thinking problems after all, according to a new study published in the November 12, 2014, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study is one of the largest to date to test long-term use of supplements and thinking and memory skills.

13 Nov 2014

Researchers develop DNA-based drug delivery system that targets cancer cells

Biomedical engineering researchers have developed a drug delivery system consisting of nanoscale "cocoons" made of DNA that target cancer cells and trick the cells into absorbing the cocoon before unleashing anticancer drugs. The work was done by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

14 Oct 2014

Medac Pharma launches Rasuvo (methotrexate) injection for patients with RA, pJIA and psoriasis

Medac Pharma, Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical company, has announced the launch of its lead product Rasuvo (methotrexate) injection for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), poly-articular-course juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) and psoriasis in the U.S.

6 Oct 2014

Epidurals and reduced postpartum depression: an interview with Dr. Zakowski

The “maternity blues”, which resolve within 10 days of giving birth, occurs in up to 80% of new moms. A major depressive episode, by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria, is defined as having at least a 2-week period of persistent depressed mood ...

23 Sep 2014

Study examines relationship between maternal iron intake and offspring autism risk

Mothers of children with autism are significantly less likely to report taking iron supplements before and during their pregnancies than the mothers of children who are developing normally, a study by researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

23 Sep 2014

Food allergies in inner-city children: an interview with Dr. Robert Wood

The general interest is in trying to better define the true prevalence of food allergy; not just how common it is, but whether it's becoming more common over time.

22 Sep 2014

Gap in stillbirth rates between indigenous and non-indigenous women in Australia is closing

The gap in stillbirth rates between indigenous and non-indigenous women in Queensland, Australia, is closing, however indigenous women are still at risk of stillbirth due to preventable causes, find researchers in a new study published today (3 September) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).

4 Sep 2014

B vitamins do not prevent Alzheimer's disease

Taking B vitamins doesn't slow mental decline as we age, nor is it likely to prevent Alzheimer's disease, conclude Oxford University researchers who have assembled all the best clinical trial data involving 22,000 people to offer a final answer on this debate.

15 Jul 2014