Folic acid is a "B" vitamin your body needs every day to be healthy. It can reduce your risk of heart disease, colon cancer and stroke. If you take it before you become pregnant, it also greatly reduces your chances of having a baby with a birth defect of the brain or spine.

Preventing Neural Tube Defects
Folic acid helps the unborn baby's neural tube, the part that becomes the brain and spinal cord, develop properly. Certain birth defects of the brain and spine are called neural tube defects, or NTDs. One of the most common NTDs is spina bifida, which is a leading cause of paralysis in children.

Recommendations
Health professionals recommend that all women who could become pregnant take at least 400 micrograms (400 mcg.) of folic acid per day. The rate of NTDs could be cut in half if women followed this guideline.

Folic acid is in many foods, but it can be hard to get the amount you need from diet alone. To be sure you get what you need, take a multi-vitamin every day with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid. You don't need a prescription; your pharmacist can help you select one that doesn't cost much. You can also get the 400 micrograms of folic acid you need by eating a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal that has been fortified with this amount every day.

If you have epilepsy, diabetes or have a family history of
NTDs, you may a higher dose of folic acid every day. Talk with your doctor or health care professional

Read about Folic Acid Deficiency from our Health Information section.

Keep in mind....

• Take a vitamin pill with at least 400 micrograms (400mcg.) of folic acid every day, or eat one of the breakfast cereals fortified with 400 micrograms (400mcg.) of folic acid per bowl. Check the nutrition label.
• Folic Acid has been added to some brands of bread, rice, flour, grits, corn meal, farina and pasta. Check the nutrition lables.
• Also, eat foods with folic acid in them, such as leafy green vegetables, beans, lentils, peanuts, asparagus, peas, and whole-grain products.