folic acid is a B vitamin , which is necessary for the growth and reproduction of human cells, and promotes the maturation of young cells in the bone marrow. Lack of folic acid can cause megaloblastic anemia and leukopenia . In daily life, folic acid is mainly used to treat anemia caused by folic acid deficiency . For pregnant women, folic acid is an important nutrient to prevent fetal malformations.
1. Do pregnant women need to supplement folic acid?
The answer to the question "Do pregnant women need to supplement folic acid" is yes. China's first batch of registered dietitians Gu Chuanling Remind that pregnant women supplement folic acid not only for themselves, but also for the fetus in the abdomen. If the folate is insufficient during the growth and development of the fetus, it is likely to cause neural tube defects , and eventually cause severe deformities such as spina bifida and brain defects.
There are rumors that too much folic acid supplementation will cause fetal arrest, so that some pregnant women tremblingly supplement folic acid for fear of eating too much. In fact, there is no medical claim that more folic acid supplementation will cause fetal arrest. There are many reasons for fetal arrest, such as chromosomes, immunity, endocrine, etc. of both parents, but it has nothing to do with folic acid. On the contrary, if lacks folic acid, it may lead to abruption of the placenta, leading to placental dysplasia and spontaneous abortion.
Second, these benefits of folic acid,do you know?
The study found that the benefits of folic acid do not stop there. In addition to being suitable for people during pregnancy and pregnancy, folic acid can also be used for:
1. Prevention of stroke
The mortality rate of stroke in my country is very high, is second in Nanchang University The director of the Affiliated Hospital’s Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center Cheng Xiaoshu professor pointed out that folic acid plays an important role in the prevention and control of stroke. Excessive homocysteine (Hcy) levels are synergistic with hypertension and increase the risk of stroke and the risk of death. research found that supplementation of folic acid can reduce homocysteine (Hcy) levels and prevent stroke.
2. Prevention of Alzheimer’s
The study found that increased homocysteine (Hcy) levels may be closely related to dementia. When the plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level exceeds 14 μmol/L, the risk of Alzheimer's disease doubles. For every 5μmol/L increase in plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level, the risk of Alzheimer's disease will increase by 40%.
Currently, is clinically believed to be the safest and most effective way to reduce homocysteine (Hcy) levels is to supplement folic acid .Folic acid supplementation can promote homocysteine metabolism, reduce plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels, and prevent Alzheimer's disease.
3. Improve menopausal symptoms
Folic acid helps to improve menopausal symptoms. Clinical studies have shown that estradiol valerate tablets combined with folic acid and folic acid are used in the treatment of perimenopausal depression. Vitamin B12 helps to solve various problems caused by the decline of hormone levels, and the effect is better. Moreover, for women, folic acid can also delay aging and prevent anemia and gynecological malignancies that are prone to menopause.
3. How to safely supplement folic acid?
So, how should different groups of people properly supplement folic acid?
- Pregnant women: For women who are healthy and have no high-risk factors, when supplementing folic acid, it is recommended to increase folic acid 0.4 mg/d or 0.8 mg/d from the possible pregnancy or at least 3 months before pregnancy. Until 3 months of pregnancy. If you have special physical conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes , congenital hydrocephalus , urinary system defects and other diseases, the amount of folic acid supplement should be adjusted under the guidance of a doctor.
- Patients with hypertension: For patients with high homocysteine (Hcy) levels with hypertension,Folic acid alone or fixed compound preparations containing folic acid can be used to reduce the risk of first stroke .
- Elderly: For the elderly, the recommended daily intake of folic acid is 0.4mg, and the maximum is no more than 1mg. If you need to use drugs for folic acid supplementation, the daily additional supplemental dose of folic acid should be about 0.4-0.8mg.
- Menopausal women: oral estradiol valerate tablets 0.5mg, once a day; folic acid 0.4mg, 3 times a day; vitamin B12 25μg, 3 times a day. The above 3 drugs were used for 28 days.
Of course, folic acid is also widely found in various animal and plant foods, such as animal liver, beans and soy products, nuts, dark green leafy vegetables, fruits and so on. For normal people, as long as the diet is balanced, there will rarely be folic acid deficiency.
60 kinds of foods rich in folic acid (Picture Source Medical World Elephant)
A reminder, in addition to avoiding folic acid deficiency, we must also prevent folic acid overdose. After all, long-term high-dose intake of synthetic folic acid may be possible Will produce certain toxic side effects. #谣零零计划# #医生来别谣#
Reference materials:
[1] "Who needs folic acid supplement? How to properly supplement folic acid? ". Medical World Xiang. 2021-08-26
[2] "Expert Interview | Application of Folic Acid in Alzheimer's Disease". Neural News. 2021-08-27
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