Folic acid, a vitamin from the B group, is particularly important during pregnancy, because if you do not consume enough of it with food, this can result in malformations in the newborn.
The so-called open spine, a neural tube defect, is a serious consequence that can result from folic acid deficiency. Congenital heart defects and cleft lip and palate can also be caused by folic acid deficiency.
Folic acid is essential for the formation of red blood cells and is therefore also directly involved in the formation of bones and the growth process.
As cells grow and develop, the body produces proteins that contribute to cell division and thus to the copying of genetic information. If this vitamin is missing, the information cannot be copied correctly and this is the reason for malformations.
For this reason, more folic acid should be taken when planning a pregnancy in order to guarantee that a minimum daily requirement is met. This is prescribed by all doctors as a preventative measure and should be started one month before pregnancy, i.e. when planning a pregnancy, and taken during the first three months of an existing pregnancy.
If there is already a folic acid deficiency, it can initially be compensated for in the woman's body by taking it before pregnancy. A doctor should decide on the optimum level in each case; a minimum of 4-6 µg per day is generally appropriate.
Where is folic acid found in nature?
Of course, the vitamin folic acid can also be obtained naturally from the right foods, e.g. green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and lettuce, but pulses, nuts, potatoes, eggs, mushrooms and wheat or rye bread also contain plenty of folic acid in its natural form
Like all vitamins, folic acid is also very susceptible to external influences, i.e. excessive storage, long cooking times and high temperatures drastically reduce its content. Only a fraction of the actual content can usually be found in tinned food, so we can only recommend eating fresh or frozen vegetables.
Too much folic acid that cannot be utilised is excreted in the urine, so it is better to reach the upper than the lower intake limit.
There are some risk factors that affect the presence of folic acid in the body, for example, young mothers often do not have a reserve in their bodies due to puberty, and the same applies to women who have had several pregnancies and breastfeeding periods at shorter intervals.
