How could folic acid fortification reduce the number of neural tube defects?
If bread or flour were fortified with folic acid, this would increase the folic acid intake of lots of people in the UK, including women with low intakes who may become pregnant. There is strong evidence that the higher a woman’s intake of folic acid before she gets pregnant, and in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, the lower the risk of her baby developing a neural tube defect. Even though women are advised to take folic acid supplements when they are trying to get pregnant and in early pregnancy, many women do not take the supplements, or they start taking them too late. This is partly because about half of pregnancies in the UK are not planned. Are there any other benefits of folic acid? Some research has suggested that folic acid could help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), reduce the risk of some types of cancer and bone disease and slow down age-related cognitive decline (which is when someone’s mental processes become impaired). But at the m
