Folic acid is an essential vitamin required for human health. This vitamin prevents birth defects in our body. Folic Acid’ stands for Vitamin – B9. Folium in Latin means plant leaf.
This vitamin, which is abundant in green vegetables, is available in plant foods in two chemical forms, folate and folacin. This water-soluble vitamin is excreted from the body through urine within eight hours of eating. Therefore, it is necessary for us to eat food containing this vitamin daily for the daily requirement of the body.
Who needs it?
Although everyone needs this vitamin, pregnant women need it extra. Generally, during the first trimester of a pregnant woman’s pregnancy, the baby’s body parts begin to grow. This vitamin is necessary for the proper development of the child’s body, brain, spinal cord, and nervous system during that period.
Also, this vitamin plays an important role in the production of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the bone marrow and in the production of many amino acids. Importantly, this vitamin greatly aids in protein production in the body. Importantly, folic acid is essential for the healthy development of a growing baby in the womb.
Problems caused by deficiency
Due to the lack of this vitamin, pregnant women suffer from vomiting, fainting and dizziness more than usual. Children are more likely to develop cleft lip and palate, stunted growth in arms and legs, and spina bifida.
Folic acid deficiency can cause stunted growth in the baby. Body weight does not correlate with age. Nerve growth is also hindered. Nervousness ensues. Decreased production of red blood cells. The few red blood cells that are produced are quickly destroyed in the spleen. Due to this, the amount of ‘hemoglobin’ will decrease and the anemia disease called ‘Macrocytic anemia’ will occur.
Who is lacking?
Many people are deficient in folic acid in this age of fast food. This deficit is especially high among those who eat less vegetables and among women of marriageable age. Pregnant women do not eat nutritious foods properly when vomiting and dizziness occur due to nausea. Because of this, most pregnant women in India are deficient in this vitamin.
Women do not need to wait until they become pregnant to take folic acid pills. All women of marriageable age should start taking these pills before marriage. Most of the married women do not get pregnant on purpose. When they become pregnant, the gestation period is about 4 weeks. This situation can be countered only by pre-dated tablets.
Also, children in villages are fed goat’s milk and soya milk for children allergic to cow’s milk. Since both of these are low in folic acid, they should be given a nutritional tonic containing this vitamin.folic-2jpg
Foods High in ‘Folic Acid’
Rice, rye, whole wheat, maize, oats, sprouted pulses, chickpeas, duram dal, urad dal, groundnut, chickpea, chickpea, green pea, cashew dal, almond dal, sesame etc. are rich in folic acid.
Spinach, spinach, tomatoes, bananas, strawberries, broccoli, beetroot, mushrooms, cauliflower, cabbage, okra, coriander, and wheat bread also contain some of this vitamin. It is abundant in non-vegetarian foods such as mutton, goat liver, eggs, fish etc. It is very low in milk and milk products.
How much do you need daily?
Adults over 11 years of age need 200 micrograms of folic acid. That is 400 micrograms for pregnant women and 300 micrograms for lactating mothers.
The foundation of health
DNA in our body cells Folic acid is required for the production of genetic material (DNA). It is because of this vitamin that helps in cell division and growth that our body growth, muscle growth, brain development, spinal cord development and nervous system development occur properly.
Pregnant women should avoid deficiency of this vitamin by eating a balanced diet and taking folic acid tablets during pregnancy. In short, folic acid is the foundation for a disability-free future generation.