In daily life, folic acid is mainly used to treat anemia caused by folate deficiency. For pregnant women, folic acid is an important nutrient for the prevention of fetal malformations.
The answer to the question, "Pregnant women need folic acid supplementation," is yes. Gu Chuanling, one of The first registered nutritionists in China, reminded that pregnant women supplement folic acid not only for themselves, but also for the fetus in the abdomen. If the fetus has insufficient folic acid in the process of growth and development, it is likely to lead to neural tube defects, and eventually cause serious deformities such as spina bifida and brain defects.
The benefits of folic acid don't stop there. In addition to being suitable for people who are trying to conceive and during pregnancy, folic acid can also be used to:
1. Prevent stroke
The mortality rate of stroke in China is very high, and Professor Cheng Xiaoshu, director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, pointed out that folic acid plays an important role in the prevention and control of stroke. High homocysteine (Hcy) levels, in combination with hypertension, increase the risk of stroke and death. Studies have found that folic acid supplementation can lower homocysteine (Hcy) levels and prevent stroke.
2. Prevent Alzheimer's disease
Studies have found that elevated homocysteine (Hcy) levels may be closely related to dementia. When plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels exceed 14 μmol/L, the risk of Alzheimer's disease increases by 1-fold. For every 5 μmol/L increase in plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels, the risk of Dementia increases by 40%.
Currently, the most clinically considered safe and effective way to reduce homocysteine (Hcy) levels is to supplement with folic acid. Folic acid supplementation can promote homocysteine metabolism, reduce plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels, and prevent Alzheimer's disease.
3, improved menopause symptoms
Folic acid helps improve menopausal symptoms, and clinical studies have shown that when treating perimenopausal depression, estradiol valerate tablets combined with folic acid and vitamin B12 help to solve a variety of problems caused by declining hormone levels. Moreover, for women, folic acid can also delay aging, prevent anemia and gynecological malignancies that are prone to menopause.