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.

B vitamins and folic acid don't cut the risk of further heart attacks

Scientists have found that levels of the amino acid homocysteine may be high in people destined for a heart attack or stroke, and some studies in the past have linked homocysteine to an increased risk of heart disease.

13 Mar 2006

Diet puts pregnant women at risk

MUMS-to-be are risking their health and that of their babies by not eating enough of the right foods.

7 Mar 2006

Ethnicity the most important personal characteristic in predicting complementary medicine use

A survey of older adults in rural North Carolina shows that they widely use complementary medicine therapies, but tend to focus on folk or home remedies, such as taking a daily "tonic" of vinegar or using Epsom salts.

1 Mar 2006

Women from Venus love chocolate from Mars

CocoaVia the long-awaited chocolate from confectionery giant Mars is about to hit the market.

22 Feb 2006

Babies of obese mothers have higher risk of some birth defects

Compared to normal-weight women, overweight and obese women suffer more pregnancy complications and their babies have more medical problems at birth, according to a position paper of the Public Affairs Committee of the Teratology Society.

5 Feb 2006

8 million children born every year with serious birth defects

According to a new report, every year an estimated 8 million children are born with a serious birth defect of genetic or partially genetic origin.

31 Jan 2006

More women need to know about folic acid's ability to prevent birth defects

Each year in Minnesota, more than 2,000 babies are born with birth defects. Many of those birth defects likely could have been prevented if the mother had taken enough folic acid.

10 Jan 2006

Gene discovery may prevent craniofacial birth defects

Craniofacial researchers have developed an animal model that explains how skull malformations occur and how they might be prevented.

22 Dec 2005

Eat your way to a better brain for your baby

A team of British scientists at Manchester and Lancaster Universities has turned established thinking on its head in a bid to understand the serious and often deadly condition, hydrocephalus, commonly known as 'water on the brain'.

From The University of Manchester 28 Nov 2005

New publication on nutrition and an active life

Nutrition and an Active Life: From Knowledge to Action is an new anthology produced by leading public health experts from the Pan American Health Organization and the international development community.

19 Oct 2005

Effects of anticonvulsants on women

The Epilepsy Foundation has issued a Call to Action to women of childbearing age who take anticonvulsant medications for conditions that include epilepsy, migraine headaches, and certain psychiatric disorders, urging them to talk to their healthcare providers about treatment options.

4 Oct 2005

Survey highlights the need to increase folic acid fortification of the grain supply

Only one-third of childbearing age women are taking a multivitamin containing the B vitamin folic acid daily to prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine in their future babies, according to a decade of March of Dimes surveys.

3 Oct 2005

New study dispels role of B vitamins in preventing heart attacks

According to the findings of a new study, by giving B vitamins to heart attack survivors their risk of having another attack is not reduced, and it may in fact do more harm than good.

6 Sep 2005

Folic acid levels should be double to provide maximum protection during pregnancy

Reports say that the U.S. government decision to add folic acid to enriched grain products has reduced the incidence of two devastating birth defects. but more needs to be done.

6 Sep 2005

Folic acid fortification of grain foods has produced a one-third decline in serious birth defects of the brain and spine

...but the March of Dimes urged federal officials to help spare a greater number of babies from these devastating conditions by requiring higher levels of the B vitamin.

6 Sep 2005

Vitamin B may do more harm than good in heart attack patients

Researchers from Norway have found that treating patients who have had a heart attack with high doses of B vitamins does not lower the risk of getting another heart attack or stroke. Contrary to expectations, B vitamins may do more harm than good.

5 Sep 2005

Folates best at preventing Alzheimer's disease

According to results from a long-term study on aging, adults who eat the daily recommended allowance of folates significantly reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

15 Aug 2005

Vitamin B reduces risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

Adults who eat the daily recommended allowance of folates - B-vitamin nutrients found in oranges, legumes, leafy green vegetables and folic acid supplements - significantly reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to results from a long-term National Institute on Aging study of diet and brain aging.

13 Aug 2005

Low levels of folate linked to lower birth rates

Mothers-to-be with lower levels of the vitamin folate in their body during early pregnancy are more likely to have babies with lower, or less healthy, birth weights, a study has revealed.

4 Aug 2005

Babies born during famine are at higher risk of schizophrenia

A new study has found that malnutrition can harm mental as well as physical health, and babies born during famine are at higher risk of schizophrenia.

3 Aug 2005