DuPage County Health Department promotes
Folic acid awareness campaign for women

The DuPage County Health Department is supporting a national campaign to make people aware of the importance of folic acid in their diets and its many lifelong benefits. The 2006 campaign is trying to increase awareness among all women, especially Hispanic women, about the benefits of folic acid consumption.

The theme of the National Folic Acid Awareness Week, Jan. 9-15, is “Folic Acid: You Don’t Know What You’re Missing.”

Folic acid is important to all people, but especially women of childbearing age. They should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day, even if they do not plan to become pregnant in the near future. Folic acid must be taken before pregnancy occurs to prevent certain birth defects called neural tube defects.

The best source of folic acid is a daily multi-vitamin. The next best source is fortified foods.

The health department reminds people about the value of folic acid with the current popularity of low-carbohydrate diets. People may be curtailing their intake of carbohydrates such as fortified grains and may be unaware that they are not getting essential vitamins and minerals necessary for health and well being, such as folic acid.

The National Council on Folic Acid encourages women to begin taking folic acid to prevent babies born with serious birth defects, such as spina bifida. According to 2004 data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hispanic women have the lowest reported folic acid knowledge and consumption of any racial or ethnic group, and these birth defects occur with the most frequency among Latina populations in the United States.

Folic acid is a B-vitamin necessary for proper cell growth in men and women. Folic acid may reduce the risk of other birth defects, such as cleft lip, cleft palate and heart defects, the risk of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and colon, cervical and breast cancer.

The health department is working with its clients to educate women about the benefits of folic acid before and during pregnancy to improve their chances of having healthy babies.
 

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