Folate, which is a B vitamin, is naturally found in nuts, liver and dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach. Folic acid refers to the synthetic form of the vitamin. If women have enough of it in their bodies before pregnancy, this vitamin can decrease the risk for neural tube defects (NTDs), which are birth defects of the baby's brain (anencephaly) or spine (spina bifida). These birth defects are called neural tube defects (NTDs). NTDs happen when the spinal cord fails to close properly.
Spina bifida occurs when part of the baby’s spinal cord remains outside the body. The baby may have paralyzed legs and, later, may develop bladder and bowel control problems. With anencephaly, the baby is born without part of its skull and brain, and eventually dies.
All women need folic acid in their diet because it works best for you and your baby early in the first month of pregnancy, a time when you may not even know you’re pregnant. Continued use of folic acid after the first month of pregnancy, and throughout your life, ensures the future good health of you and your family.
If you plan to have children some day, here's important information for the future mother-to-be: Think folate now. Because by the time you know you're pregnant, your baby's brain and spine are already formed.
The vitamin's importance in the development of unborn children was first suggested in the late '60s, when researchers found folate deficiencies might contribute to neural tube defects.
These neural tube defects occur in 1 to 2 per 1,000 births.
The lifetime medical and financial costs of a patient with spina bifida are very high and the effect on the family is incalculable.
Folic acid: don’t be confused by labels
Read food and vitamin labels carefully to make sure you’re getting enough folic acid. On the labels, folic acid is also called "folate." The amount of folic acid or folate in a vitamin or food may be given as either 400 micrograms or 0.4 mg. "mg" stands for MILLIGRAM. They are the same amounts.
Nutrition information on food and dietary supplement labels can help women determine whether they are getting enough folate, which is 400 micrograms (0.4 milligrams) a day before pregnancy and 800 micrograms a day during pregnancy.
The FDA restricts the amount of folic acid allowed in vitamin supplements to only 400 mcg (micrograms) per daily dose. The FDA does allow 800 mcg of daily folate if the vitamins are intended for pregnant women.
In Europe, folic acid supplements containing 5,000 mcg of folic acid have been sold for more than 25 years.
Folic acid not only beneficial for pregnancy
Folic acid has other benefits in addition to preventing birth defects. Folate leads to a decrease in homocysteine serum concentrations. Homocysteine in high levels is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Taking vitamin supplements containing vitamin B6 and folate with every meal is desirable to neutralize the formation of toxic homocysteine in the bloodstream, thereby lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke and other vascular diseases.
Listing Site Updates
Are you pregnant? The proof is in the pregnancy test. But even before you miss a period, you may suspect — or hope — that you're pregnant. Consider these early symptoms of pregnancy, which may begin in the first few weeks after conception. 1. Tende, Swollen Breast Your breasts may provide one of the first symptoms of pregnancy. As early as two weeks after conception, hormonal changes may make your breasts tender, tingly or sore. Or your breasts may feel fuller and heavier. 2. Fatigue Fatigue also ranks high among early symptoms of pregnancy. During early pregnancy, levels of the hormone progesterone soar. In high enough doses, progesterone can put you to sleep. At the same time, lower blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure and increased blood production may team up to sap your energy. 3. Slight Brleding Or Cramping For some women, a small amount of spotting or vaginal bleeding is one of the first symptoms of pregnancy. Known as implantation bleeding, it happens when the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus — about 10 to 14 days after fertilization. This type of bleeding is usually a bit earlier, spottier and lighter in color than a normal period and doesn't last as long. Some women also experience abdominal cramping early in pregnancy. These cramps are similar to menstrual cramps. 4. Nausea With Or Without Vomitting Morning sickness, which can strike at any time of the day or night, is one of the classic symptoms of pregnancy. For some women, the queasiness begins as early as two weeks after conception. Nausea seems to stem at least in part from rapidly rising levels of estrogen, which causes the stomach to empty more slowly. Pregnant women also have a heightened sense of smell, so various odors — such as foods cooking, perfume or cigarette smoke — may cause waves of nausea in early pregnancy. 5. Food Aversion Or Craving When you're pregnant, you might find yourself turning up your nose at certain foods, such as coffee or fried foods. Food cravings are common, too. Like most other symptoms of pregnancy, these food preferences can be chalked up to hormonal changes — especially in the first trimester, when hormone changes are the most dramatic. 6. Headaches Early in pregnancy, increased blood circulation caused by hormonal changes may trigger frequent, mild headaches. 7. Constipation Constipation is another common early symptom of pregnancy. An increase in progesterone causes food to pass more slowly through the intestines — which can lead to constipation. 8. Mood Swing The flood of hormones in your body in early pregnancy can make you unusually emotional and weepy. Mood swings are also common, especially in the first trimester. 9. Fainted & Dizziness As your blood vessels dilate and your blood pressure drops, you may feel lightheaded or dizzy. Early in pregnancy, faintness may also be triggered by low blood sugar. 10. Raised Basal Body Temperature Your basal body temperature is your oral temperature when you first wake up in the morning. This temperature increases slightly soon after ovulation and remains at that level until your next period. If you've been charting your basal body temperature to determine when you ovulate, its continued elevation for more than two weeks may mean you're pregnant. * Unfortunately, these symptoms aren't unique to pregnancy. Some can indicate that you're getting sick or that your period is about to start. Likewise, you can be pregnant without experiencing any of these symptoms.
Notifying Visitors of Site Enhancements
Another idea for my home page's text is notifying visitors about the enhancements I put on my site. For example, I want visitors to sign my guestbook or fill out my survey Form E-mailer to answer questions about my site, my business, or my site's topic.
Need some extra help building your site? Here are some topics that may be helpful.
Customizing and Personalizing My Site
I might not want a large amount of text on my home page if I want to guide visitors toward my other pages.
Instead of text, I can add photos or interesting links.
One of the first things I would want to do is choose a template that reflects what my site is all about.
Colors and themes are a great way to reinforce the message and purpose of my site.
Behind the Scenes of My Home Page
Even if I don't put much text on my home page, it's a good idea to include hidden tools that will help me promote my site, so people other than my friends and family actually see it. For example, I could add meta tags, which are hidden codes that allow search engines to find my site. I could also install stats and a counter so I know how many people are visiting. If not many are visiting, submitting my site to search engines will guide more traffic to my site.
