When pregnant, we all know that the body is also particularly special, we must pay more attention to the food that can eat more protein vitamins to have enough nutrition for themselves, or can make the baby healthier, so what is folic acid What do pregnant women need to supplement folic acid? In fact, pregnant women should supplement folic acid in time in the first trimester of pregnancy or before having a baby.
What is folic acid
Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, an essential substance in the growth of the fetus, is a nutrient in the vitamin B group, which has the characteristics of water solubility, so it cannot be gathered in the body. This nutrient was first discovered from spinach leaves, hence the name "folic acid". Folic acid is an important nutrient, it is an important component of DNA, assists the brain to function properly, and is an indispensable vitamin for humans. For pregnant women, supplementing with an appropriate amount of folic acid can effectively avoid the occurrence of premature birth, deformity, spinal cleavage, weight loss, rabbit lip and other phenomena in the fetus.
Which foods contain folic acid
Want to increase the amount of folic acid in your body? Be a foodie! Folic acid is mainly distributed in the five major categories of grain rhizomes, vegetables, meat, fruits, and oils.
1. Grain rhizomes
Including some soy products such as soybeans, as well as grain foods, such as barley, wheat, etc., as well as popular nuts, such as chestnuts, pine nuts, walnuts and so on.
2. Vegetables
Among the vegetable families, the dark color system is the best, such as aloe vera, green coconut flowers, spinach, etc.
3. Meat
Eggs, chicken, beef and mutton, etc. and animal offal (chicken liver, pork liver, etc.).
Special recommendation: Chicken liver. Chicken liver has always had the title of folic acid champion, just eat 50g of chicken liver, you can get 586.1 micrograms of folic acid including some delicious such as grapes and lemons, appetizing bayberry, and moisturizing bananas and so on.
5. Grease. In addition, chicken liver also has a blind skin care effect, suitable for expectant mothers to eat.
4. Fruits (guaranteed freshness)
Nuts, such as walnut oil.
When to supplement folic acid
1. Start folic acid supplementation in the first trimester of pregnancy
China Nutrition Association recommends that folic acid can be supplemented from the first 90 days of pregnancy to ensure that the level of folic acid in the body is maintained at a certain content, and the baby is prepared for the storage of folic acid, so that the baby can grow in an environment with sufficient amount of folic acid in the early stage.
The fetus begins the development of the neural tube in the first four weeks of the mother's body, and when the pregnant woman realizes that she is pregnant, the neural tube development of the fetus has already been closed, so it is too late.
2. Folic acid supplementation needs to last throughout pregnancy
3 months before pregnancy and 3 months after pregnancy, this half year is a critical time to supplement folic acid. Even if you take folic acid tablets in time, you can't make the folate content in the body increase rapidly in a short period of time, so it is recommended that folic acid supplementation should be continued throughout pregnancy. As the baby grows and develops in the mother, the growth of the mother's own red blood cells, changes in the breast, the production of the baby's DNA, and the formation of the placenta require a large amount of folic acid. If the folic acid content is insufficient, it will cause fetal malformations, premature birth, developmental delay, etc., while pregnant women will have placental abruption, erythrocyte anemia, pregnancy hypertension and other symptoms, which can be said to have a great impact on adults and babies.
3. Folic acid supplementation in the morning has a better effect
Studies have shown that women supplement folic acid in the morning or in the morning is better, because the body's metabolism is faster during the day, and the morning is the best time to absorb nutrients. It is recommended to supplement folic acid within 30 minutes to 1 hour after breakfast, while paying attention to drinking more water and paying attention to rest.
The pros and cons of folic acid
· The role of folic acid
1. Effectively prevent fetal neural tube malformations
Many expectant mothers have not yet figured out what the neural tube is, in simple terms, the neural tube is the spinal cord and the brain. The fetus in the early development time of the mother, the need for neural tube development and closure, if the amount of folic acid is not enough, it will cause the neural tube closure is abnormal, and then cause infant congenital malformations, such as brain bulge, anencephaly, mental retardation, spina bifida and so on. The US Centers for Disease Control found that women who insist on taking 400 micrograms of folic acid per day in the first 1 month of pregnancy and the 3 months of pregnancy can reduce the probability of neural tube malformations by 50% to 70%.
2. Effectively prevent fetal congenital diseases, cleft lip and palate and other episomal deformities
The first three months of pregnancy is an important period of placental formation and differentiation of the baby's organs, at this stage the baby's cell division is in a vigorous stage, if the pregnant woman lacks folic acid, it will lead to the baby's cardiovascular, bone, lip, eye, kidney and other organ malformations, that is, our common cleft lip and palate, congenital heart disease and so on. A study by Peking University showed that adequate intake of folic acid can effectively prevent the symptoms of episomal deformities in babies and reduce neonatal mortality.
3. Reduce pregnancy reactions
Some expectant mothers say that after taking folic acid, the pregnancy response is reduced, vomiting is reduced, and breast swelling and pain are alleviated. In fact, as a member of the B vitamin group, folic acid can not only alleviate the reaction of early pregnancy, but also replenish nutrients lost due to vomiting.
4. Prevent anemia in pregnant women and fetuses
There are many expectant mothers who have symptoms of anemia during pregnancy, which is mainly due to the fact that the baby is in the mother's body, due to the need for growth, it will "rob" the mother's serum iron, if the mother's folic acid content is insufficient, it will form anemia. In the long run, the baby will be deprived of oxygen due to maternal anemia, and in severe cases, it can lead to the consequences of premature birth or even stillbirth. The mother will also be prone to pregnancy poisoning because of anemia, weak uterine contraction during childbirth, and slow recovery of poor postpartum resistance. In addition, folic acid is also mainly involved in the synthesis of red blood cells, so supplementing with adequate amounts of folic acid can effectively prevent anemia in pregnant women and fetuses.
5. Promote the development of the baby's nervous system
Folic acid has a great role in promoting the production of baby DNA and the formation of placenta, and the mother obtains enough folic acid to effectively promote the development of the fetus's nervous system.
6. Reduce the risk of preeclampsia in pregnant women
What is preeclampsia? It is a high blood pressure disease that women are prone to suffer from during the pregnancy of the baby, and supplementing with sufficient folic acid can reduce the risk of developing the disease.
7. Other effects
In addition to its positive effect on pregnant women and fetuses, it also has significant effects on the prevention of chronic heart disease, cervical and breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease, etc.
Folic acid everyone is very familiar with, before pregnancy or after pregnancy must be eaten in time, can be faster to prevent the fetus from appearing some malformations, so in pregnancy must be timely to supplement folic acid, you can eat more containing more folic acid some food, or eat more folic acid tablets.