Many women are told to eat more folic acid when they are trying to get pregnant. So what exactly is folic acid? What are the benefits for women who are trying to conceive? Today I will take you to know about it.
What exactly is folic acid?
In fact, folic acid is a vitamin, and its scientific name is vitamin B9. Because it was first extracted from spinach leaves, it is called folic acid.
Folic acid is a necessary substance for human cells to grow and multiply and make red blood cells. Once the fruit is lacking, it will lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and may even develop anemia.
According to the recommendations of the Chinese Nutrition Society, the general population over the age of 18 should consume 0.4 mg of folic acid per day. The meat, animal liver, vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and other foods often eaten in daily life contain folic acid. As long as the average person eats a normal diet, there will be no lack of folic acid.
Why should pregnant women supplement with extra folic acid?
As we all know, the folic acid consumed by pregnant women is not only to meet their own needs, but also to supply the fetus. The fetus can only draw folic acid from the mother's body through the placenta.
Therefore, pregnant women need folic acid much higher than the average person, with a recommended intake of 0.6 mg per day.
However, even if the daily diet is very careful, it is more difficult to protect the needs of pregnant women. Because the natural folic acid in food is afraid of both light and heat, the dish may still be in the pot, but the folic acid has been lost for most of it.
Therefore, pregnant women have and need to supplement with folic acid.
What exactly does folic acid do?
The biggest effect of folic acid supplementation is to prevent neural tube defects in the fetus. Neural tube defects are a serious malformation that can lead to serious problems such as anencephaly, bulging brain, spina bifida, and so on.
Therefore, for pregnant women, folic acid supplementation is a matter that needs to be paid extreme attention to.
And because the egg is fertilized for about 15 days, the nervous system begins to develop, and about 21 days after fertilization, the neural tube begins to close. Therefore, folic acid supplementation must be done early.
Folic acid supplementation is recommended to start best from the first 3 months of pregnancy and at least until more than 3 months of pregnancy.
Because folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, what is not absorbed by the body will be excreted with the urine. The average person should be supplemented for about a month, and the level of folic acid in the body will gradually increase.
In addition, folic acid can also be eaten until after the baby is born. Because many studies have found that folic acid supplementation is good for the development of fetal organs, bones, etc., and can also prevent pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and placental abruption. In foreign countries, it is even recommended to continue to supplement folic acid during lactation.
!["Natural folic acid" has been found! Eat often to prevent stroke, dementia and control blood pressure, middle-aged and elderly people should eat more[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)