A narrative review investigating the benefits and risks of high-dose folic acid for women with pre-existing diabetes in periconception concludes doses of 4mg folate a day or 5mg every second day are warranted, taking individualised needs into consideration.
Policymakers need to review the current methods of ensuring folate sufficiency among women of childbearing age, said a group of Australian researchers who found that food and supplements could not provide optimal folate intake.
Insufficient intakes of choline and the omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may have lifelong deleterious impacts on maternal and infant health, according to a paper by researchers from Pharmavite LLC, the company behind Nature’s Made supplements.
An upper intake level of folate is unnecessary, say UK researchers, who think its removal to allow flour fortification with folic acid will open up a global opportunity to prevent future birth defects.
To date 75 countries globally have implemented mandatory fortification programmes for folic acid with the aim of preventing neural tube defects (NTDs) in babies. Yet despite growing calls from NGOs, health experts and researchers, the 28 EU member countries...
The re-emergence of the Victorian-era condition rickets in the UK has put the spotlight back on vitamin D intakes, and a recent advisory committee report will likely spur debate on the need for mandatory fortification.
Women at risk of carrying babies with spina bifida and other neural tube defects may benefit from taking inositol, also known as vitamin B8, alongside folic acid during pregnancy, researchers have suggested.
EFSA: "Increasing maternal folate status contributes to the reduction of the risk of NTD.”
Europe’s head science agency has joined other international authorities in backing B vitamin folate’s ability to reduce neural tube defects (NTDs) like spina bifida and hydrocephalus in early-stage foetuses.
It’s 100 years since Casimir Funk came up with the term ‘vitamin’, but with an ever-increasing global population and negative reports in the media of their ‘ineffectiveness’ for select health conditions, what does the future hold for the humble vitamin?
Consuming folic acid from supplements or fortified grain products is unlikely to exacerbate problems associated with low vitamin B12 levels, says a new study.
Over 85 per cent of neural tube defects cases caused by folate deficiency in Germany could be prevented by adopting mandatory fortification, according to a review which argues in favour of food fortification.
Increased intakes of folic acid – a synthetic form of folate – may decrease blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine, but this does not translate into reductions in cardiovascular events, says a new meta-analysis from the University of Oxford.
A new study presented today has revealed that variations in
recommended daily allowances for folic acid across the EU are
causing confusion for consumers.
A recent study suggests women who take multivitamins early in
pregnancy could reduce the risk of their child developing a brain
tumour - giving further leverage for marketing to this important
consumer group.
Supplements of a folic acid derivative result in higher blood
folate levels than straight folic acid, and could be an alternative
for the prevention of neural tube defects, says a study from
Germany.
The prevalence of neural tube defects in Europe has not declined
substantially in the past decade, despite national policies of
folic acid supplementation in half the countries, write UK
researchers in tomorrow's issue of the...
A recent study in Canada has given weight to the assumption that
adding folic acid to food can dramatically reduce the incidence of
birth defects - suggesting that Europe should follow the example
set by North America and start to...
Multivitamins containing folic acid appear to be more effective at
preventing neural tube defects than high dose folic acid
supplements, suggests a new review, attempting to resolve the
debate over how women should consume the essential...
Folate fortification of flour may have worked better than
previously thought to reduce the number of children born with
neural tube defects (NTDs), suggests a new study looking at the
impact of the recently launched fortification...
Australia's TGA, soon to be given new powers to regulate dietary
supplements after a recent government report, last week ordered a
recall of Vital brand Vitamin B complex capsules, after the
manufacturer alerted it to problems...
An adequate intake of folic acid during pregnancy, believed to
protect against neural tube defects (NTDs) in babies, may also help
prevent Down's syndrome, researchers report in The Lancet
this week.
Folic acid has received a lot of positive press in recent weeks,
and the benefits of the B vitamin continue to hit the headlines. In
Canada, the government has just launched a major campaign promoting
its effects in combating birth...
