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Frequently Asked Questions
| What is folic acid? | |
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| Folic acid, also known as folate or folacin, is a B vitamin that is essential for the healthy development of a baby’s spine, brain and skull during the early weeks of pregnancy. Folic acid has been proven to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) by as much as 70% if taken before pregnancy. | |
| While scientists do not know exactly how folic acid affects the risk of neural tube defects, they do know that women need more folic acid during pregnancy to support their expanding blood volume and the growth of maternal and fetal tissues, including the neural tube. Studies show that the risk of a neural tube defect can be reduced by as much as 70% by taking a multivitamin containing a minimum of 0.4 mg of folic acid and by eating a healthy diet containing foods high in folate and foods fortified with folic acid, at least 3 months prior to conception and throughout the first trimester. | |
| Why is it important to take folic acid before conception? | |
| Neural tube defects occur in the first 30 days after conception, before most women even know that they are pregnant. And, since many Canadian pregnancies are unplanned, it is important for all women of childbearing age who are sexually active to be taking a multivitamin containing a minimum of 0.4 mg of folic acid. |  |
| What are neural tube defects (NTDs)? | |
| Neural tube defects are birth defects that affect the brain (anencephaly) and/or spinal cord (spina bifida). NTDs occur when the tissues that form the brain and spinal cord fail to develop properly. These defects occur in the first four weeks after conception – usually before a woman even knows she is pregnant. | |
| Who is at risk of having a baby with NTDs? | |
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Any woman who could become pregnant is at risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect. About one in every 1,000 pregnancies in Canada is affected by NTDs. You may be at a greater risk of having a baby with a NTD if:
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| Can NTDs be detected before birth? | |
| Some NTDs can be detected before birth. Talk to your health care provider if you wish to know more about the prenatal blood test (maternal serum screening, triple test) or ultrasound test that can give you more information about whether your developing baby has a neural tube defect. | |
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| How much folic acid should I take? | |
| All women who could become pregnant should take a multivitamin containing a minimum of 0.4 mg of folic acid and eat foods high in folate everyday. To help reduce the risk of NTDs, you should take folic acid at least three months prior to conception and throughout the first three months of pregnancy. Women at high risk of having a NTD-affected pregnancy need to take a higher dose of folic acid and should consult with their physicians. | |
| Can I get too much folic acid? | |
| Even in very high amounts folic acid is non-toxic. However, it is recommended that women consume no more than 1.0 mg. of synthetic (multivitamin supplement) folic acid a day. Large amounts of folic acid may hide the ability to quickly diagnose a rare vitamin B-12 deficiency, pernicious anemia. This condition primarily affects the elderly population and, in some cases, can lead to neurological damage. Today, doctors can use a simple test to check for a B-12 deficiency.Take supplements as directed on the package label and if you take more that 1.0 mg please consult your physician. | |
| Where can I get folic acid? | |
| The easiest way to get the required daily amount of folic acid is to take a daily multivitamin containing a minimum of 0.4 mg of folic acid. Taking a vitamin does not reduce or replace the need for eating a healthy, well-balanced diet according to Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating. You should eat food high in folic acid such as broccoli, spinach and orange juice, as well as foods fortified with folic acid such as white flour, bread, enriched pasta and enriched cornmeal. | |
| Who should take folic acid? | |
| All women who could become pregnant should take a daily multivitamin containing folic acid. Since many pregnancies in Canada are unplanned, and neural tube defects occur before most women even know they are pregnant, all women who could become pregnant should take folic acid. | |
| What foods contain folic acid? | |
| It is difficult to accurately estimate how much folic acid is present in food. However, based on the serving sizes used in Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating and the best available evidence, the following tables provide an estimate of the amount of folic acid in some foods. | |
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| Source: Canadian Nutrient File. Health Canada, 2001b | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * All white flour in Canada is enriched. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The folic acid in foods can be easily lost. It is best to:
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