What as folic acid

Pregnancy doubles a woman’s need for folate (folic acid or folacin). Folic acid has been shown to be important in preventing neural tube defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly and is essential to the formation of red blood cells. Sev…

http://www.cureresearch.com/artic/pregnancy_and_nutrition_nwhic.htm#5

Folate is a folic acid supplement available from your pharmacy. It contains 400 micrograms of folic acid and should ideally be taken three months prior to conception and up until the twelfth week of pregnancy. It aids the vital development …

http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?con=366#q6

Folic acid has long been recognized as a vital nutrient for the brain and spinal cord. Recent research has demonstrated that folic acid has significant importance in Alzheimer’s disease. An ongoing study of Alzheimer’s disease that began in…

http://www.heartspring.net/memory_focus.html#acid

Related Questions Answered on Y!Answers

How does folic acid aid in the prevention of nural tube deffects such as if taken by the mother-to-be?

Q: I am amazed at how many reports thre are on infants who are born with anencephaly and then the parents find out that had the mother taken more folic acid their baby would have had a brain.[such as anencephaly]

A: Folic acid is a naturally occurring B vitamin that helps a baby’s neural tube—the part of a developing baby that becomes the brain and spinal cord—develop properly. It must be taken before and during early pregnancy when the neural tube is developing.The best way to get enough folic acid is to take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid in it and eat a healthy diet. Most multivitamins have this amount, but check the label to be sure. You also can get folic acid in your diet, but it’s hard to get enough every day through food alone. That’s why the March of Dimes encourages all women of childbearing age to take a multivitamin containing folic acid every day as part of a healthy diet.Folic acid works, but it only works if taken before and during the first few weeks of pregnancy, when the neural tube is developing into the brain and spinal cord. When the neural tube does not close properly, a baby is born with a very serious birth defect called a neural tube defect (NTD). About 3,000 pregnancies are affected by NTDs each year in the United States. If all women took adequate folic acid before conception and during pregnancy, up to 70 percent of NTDs could be prevented. Folic acid has no known toxic level. If you ate a bowl of fully fortified cereal (400 micrograms), took a folic acid supplement (400 micrograms), and ate fortified foods and foods rich in folate, you would not get too much folic acid. Even in very high amounts, folic acid is non-toxic. Still, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women consume no more than 1,000 micrograms of synthetic folic acid a day

is Elevit good for my pregnancy is it classed as a folic acid dose?

Q: i am pregnant and have been taking Elevit vitamins and mineral for preg and lactation is this all i need for my pregnancy or being pregnant know do i need to take a separate Folic acid course?

A: one elevit tablet a day contains all the folate and iron that your body needs during pregnancy.I was taking elevit, but the doc put me on 2x blackmores pregnancy gold tablets instead as it has more iodine (?) something starting with i anyway, and an FGF (iron tablet) a day.but elevit is good too. they’ll probably change their minds about which one is ‘best’ next month anyway.

Is there such thing as TOO MUCH Folic Acid?

Q: I take 400 (i dont know what the measurement is) daily as i am ttc. However i bought some Multivitamins the other day not realising they already have 200 (whatever the measurement is). Is it ok to take both Multivitamins and the Folic Acid? Thanks girlies, and baby dust to you all!! 🙂 x x x x x

A: It is fine to take both. Folic acid is a water soluble vitamin and your body will excrete what it doesn’t need.Some women are prescribed a mega dose of 5000 rather than 400 and that is considered quite safe!