Study backs folic acid as means to cut birth defects

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tcomeau - 27 Sep 2004 19:44 GMT

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2004/09/27/folic_acid040927.html

OTTAWA - Fortifying grain products with folic acid has led to a
dramatic decline in the rate of birth defects such as spina bifida, a
new study by Health Canada shows.

FROM AUG. 6, 2002: Folic acid in cereal cuts birth defects by half,
studies find

Dark green, leafy vegetables are high in folate.
The proportion of babies born with neural tube defects in Newfoundland
and Labrador dropped by 78 per cent after the federal government
required folic acid to be added to flour, cornmeal and pasta,
researchers found.

Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, also called vitamin B-9,
which is found in citrus fruits, nuts, liver and dark green, leafy
vegetables.

The vitamin has many important functions in the body, but it was in
the mid-1960s that scientists discovered that folate deficiency might
be the cause of neural tube defects, in which the central nervous
system fails to develop fully in the fetus.

Neural tube defects can lead to spina bifida, a defect of the spinal
cord and back bones, and less common defects of the brain such as
anencephaly, when the brain doesn't develop fully.

Scientists don't know how folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube
defects in developing babies.

Since 1992, many medical authorities have told women of child-bearing
age to take folic acid supplements.

The Canadian government introduced mandatory fortification of some
foods with folic acid in 1998.

Continue to fortify food, scientists say

Dr. Catherine McCourt, with Health Canada's population and public
health branch in Ottawa, and her colleagues studied the effects of
folic acid fortification in women aged 19 to 44 and in seniors in
Newfoundland and Labrador.

The study looked at women in St. John's, Nfld. and the rural area of
Clarenville, Port Blandford in the Random Island area.

Historically, the province has had one of the highest rates of neural
tube defects in North America, the researchers said in the Sept. 27
issue of BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.

McCourt's team found the fortification boosted dietary intake of folic
acid by 70 micrograms per day, on average.

The incidence of neural tube defects in the province fell by 78 per
cent, from an average of 4.36 defects per 1,000 births between 1991
and 1997, prior to fortification, to an average of 0.96 defects per
1,000 births between 1998 and 2001.

"Based on these findings, mandatory food fortification in Canada
should continue at the current levels," the researchers concluded.

There is no way to tease out the contributions of food fortification
and supplement use on the decline of neural tube defects, the
researchers noted.

"Public education regarding folic acid supplement use by women of
childbearing age should also continue," the study's authors added.

***********

So a diet high in cereal grains that are NOT enriched with folic acid
leads to folic acid deficiency. Has it not occurred to them that a
diet high in cereal grains will also lead to other vitamin
deficiencies? Cereal grains contain little or no Vitamin C and B12 as
well as others.

There are two options here. Fortify all cereal grains with all
vitamins that it is deficient in. Or cut back on consuming these
nutrient deficient cereal grains and eat other more complete
nutrient-rich foods.

Cereal crains are for the birds, literally.

TC