Folic Acid

Mothers who took folic acid supplements around the time they became pregnant were less likely to have children with an autism spectrum disorder, a new study has found. Researchers in Norway examined health records of more than 85,000 children born there between 1999 and 2009 to see whether they had some kind of autism diagnosis. They also looked at questionnaires completed by their mothers to see how much folic acid they were consuming in the month before they became pregnant and during the first eight weeks of pregnancy, a critical period of embryonic brain development.

Mothers who took folic acid supplements around the time they became pregnant were less likely to have children with an autism spectrum disorder, a new study has found. Researchers in Norway examined health records of more than 85,000 children born there between 1999 and 2009 to see whether they had some kind of autism diagnosis. They also looked at questionnaires completed by their mothers to see how much folic acid they were consuming in the month before they became pregnant and during the first eight weeks of pregnancy, a critical period of embryonic brain development.

Folic acid is one of those great public health success stories. In the decade that followed the fortification of cereal grains and other foods, along with educational campaigns, the rate of certain birth defects dropped dramatically. As studies beginning in the 1980s started showing that folic acid could also help prevent some cancers, it started to seem like a wonder-vitamin. Now, however, folic acid's heyday may be over.

Some vitamin and mineral supplements -- including iron and multivitamins -- are associated with a small increase in the risk of death in older women, researchers reported Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Their results, which came out of a two-decade study of nearly 40,000 women in Iowa, are part of a longstanding debate: Are dietary supplements beneficial or not? Many experts consider taking extra vitamins and minerals unnecessary -- at least for most in the Western world, where eating a healthful diet is relatively easy.  "We see little justification for the general and widespread use of dietary supplements," nutritionist Jaakko Mursu, of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis and the University of Eastern Finland, wrote along with coauthors.  An accompanying article in the Archives of Internal Medicine echoed the sentiment.  An editor's note also argued that "less is more" when it comes to taking your vitamins.

Folic acid has been added to grain products for more than a decade in order to boost intake among women of reproductive age. The supplementation was endorsed after studies showed adequate levels of folic acid are necessary to prevent spinal cord defects and other birth defects. But a new study suggests everyone except reproductive age women are getting plenty of the nutrient. Researchers in Canada examined the folate status of Canadians of all ages. Like the United States, Canada adds folic acid to grain products.

Folic acid may slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease and minimize the severity of its symptoms, according to epidemiologist David Snowdon of the University of Kentucky. The findings, presented last week at the National Institutes of Health, echo results obtained last year in England in a different population and suggest that physicians now have one more way to combat this debilitating, eventually fatal disease.

Taking folic acid supplements for a year before conception reduces the risk of very premature birth by at least 50%, researchers reported Monday. Shorter courses of the supplement were not as effective, according to the study of nearly 35,000 women reported in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine. Folic acid's effectiveness in reducing the risk of neural-tube and other birth defects -- even without such a long course -- is long established.

The British government Thursday advised women planning to become pregnant to take more folic acid to reduce the risk of having a child with spina bifida. Women who have already given birth to a child with the disease should be especially careful to increase their intake of folic acid, Britain's chief medical officer, Dr. Kenneth Calman, told reporters.

The level of folic acid that the government requires U.S. manufacturers to add to cereal, bread and pasta may be inadequate to protect people against heart disease or birth defects. Folic acid deficiencies have been linked to birth defects of the brain and spine as well as to high blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine. Homocysteine, in turn, has been linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Folic acid supplements don't lower the odds of heart disease, stroke or death for patients who have a history of cardiovascular or kidney illness, according to a new analysis of a dozen trials. The studies, published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., showed no statistically significant differences in the risks for patients who took folic acid and those who didn't.

Some dietary supplements are associated with an increased risk of death in older women, according to a study released Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In an analysis of about 39,000 women tracked over 19 years, researchers led by a team at the University of Minnesota found that those who took multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, copper and especially iron died at higher rates during the course of the study than those who did not take supplements.

Folate is a valuable nutrient, especially for pregnant women. Studies show adequate intake of folate -- or folic acid -- just before pregnancy and during pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk of spinal cord defects. However, a new study shows one thing folate apparently can't do: lower the risk of preterm birth. Researchers have long wondered if the amount of folate in the diet would have an impact on preterm birth. One previous study suggested that it might help. Preterm birth is a big problem in the United States, with about 12% of babies born too early.

Folic acid has been added to grain products for more than a decade in order to boost intake among women of reproductive age. The supplementation was endorsed after studies showed adequate levels of folic acid are necessary to prevent spinal cord defects and other birth defects. But a new study suggests everyone except reproductive age women are getting plenty of the nutrient. Researchers in Canada examined the folate status of Canadians of all ages. Like the United States, Canada adds folic acid to grain products.

Allergies are on the rise, experts know. What they don't know is why. The most popular theory is the so-called hygiene hypothesis. It holds that our culture's addiction to cleanliness, antiseptics and antibiotics prevents our immune systems from developing the ability to ward off real infections. Our bodies then end up overreacting to things they should be ignoring.

Taking folic acid supplements for a year before conception reduces the risk of very premature birth by at least 50%, researchers reported Monday. Shorter courses of the supplement were not as effective, according to the study of nearly 35,000 women reported in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine. Folic acid's effectiveness in reducing the risk of neural-tube and other birth defects -- even without such a long course -- is long established.

Folic acid is one of those great public health success stories. In the decade that followed the fortification of cereal grains and other foods, along with educational campaigns, the rate of certain birth defects dropped dramatically. As studies beginning in the 1980s started showing that folic acid could also help prevent some cancers, it started to seem like a wonder-vitamin. Now, however, folic acid's heyday may be over.

For decades we've known that vitamins are essential for health--indeed, for life itself. But, for almost as long, researchers and nutritionists have debated whether vitamin supplements are necessary to boost the amount of these nutrients we get naturally from food. Most of the attention in this controversy has been given to the so-called antioxidant vitamins: C, E and A.

It's been seven years since federal health officials announced that folic acid was so effective at preventing a certain type of birth defect that all women of childbearing age should take it. Last year, the government even mandated that cereal and grain products be fortified with folic acid--a form of vitamin B--to prevent neural tube defects, which involve the spinal cord.

Use of vitamins with folic acid -- a dietary supplement that can prevent neural tube birth defects -- declined among Latinas in California from 2002 to 2006, despite a decade-long public health effort that has raised consumption among black, white and Asian women of childbearing age, according to a study released Thursday.

Adding folic acid to flours, pastas and rice has reduced the rate of spina bifida and anencephaly in the U.S., sparing 1,000 babies each year from these devastating birth defects. But a recent study suggests those health gains may have come at a cost: an extra 15,000 cases of colon cancer annually. The report, from Tufts University, is the latest to raise a cautionary note about a public-health policy that has been largely viewed as a success. "Have we done more harm than benefit?" said Dr.