‘Women, everywhere, should take folic acid.’ That’s the advice of the Scottish Spina Bifida Association if you’re of childbearing age.
Most mums to be know that folic acid is important for a baby’s development in the womb. However the charity is concerned that unplanned pregnancies have led to double the number of children born with spina bifida this year.
The word ‘folate’ comes from the Latin for leaf so it’s not surprising that you can get a lot of the vitamin naturally from leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, peas, chickpeas and brown rice. Other good sources of this essential folate are fortified cereals, liver and yeast but women planning pregnancies need to have 400mg a day, which is best guaranteed by taking folic acid in form.
Part of the problem is that women will often wait until their next period to see if they are pregnant but a baby’s spine develops during the first four weeks of pregnancy. Hence the logic that if you are sexually active then it’s wise to up your folate consumption.
Something to be careful of is that it’s easy to destroy folates if you cook your food for too long. And the vitamin does not stay in your system so you need a regular intake.
But it’s not even just all women who can benefit from folic acid, absolutely everyone should. Folates, vitamin D and calcium are all particularly helpful in fighting bowel cancer. They reduce the polyps – growths in the intestines which are believed to lead to the cancer. Since it’s one of the most common cancers everyone should be aware of how the right diet can help.
