Food and Pregnancy: Importance of Folic Acid
The long-awaited moment arrived, maybe you imagined from memory and you have decided to become a mother. In a period of much excitement before conception is important to prepare the body to hold our baby. Apart from avoiding harmful habits like smoking, it is essential to acquire certain nutrients, if we do not care what we eat, may not be present in our daily diet.
For many women, pregnancy is a good time to start eating healthy and incorporating good habits that kept for the rest of his life. While it is the common image of the pregnant hungry devouring everything in most cases only need 300 extra calories a day to keep the baby (although needs may vary). The challenge is to incorporate these calories by choosing foods wisely that the amounts needed from each food group that are better for mother and baby.
The choice of foods that can make a difference in our health care can be the first to make our baby. "Eating for two" is not necessarily to eat twice, but a responsible act, and entertaining, why not.
Before pregnancy
One of the most important nutrients during pregnancy are folic acid, or its variant in the form of a medicinal product, the folic acid. Folates, also known as vitamin B9, is present in green leafy vegetables like spinach or lettuce in legumes such as beans, sunflower seeds in the yeast and beer, among others. Can also be found in fortified foods and dietary supplements.
His greatest beneficial effect is related to pregnancy prevents malformations in the fetus, mainly of the spine (spina bifida) and brain (anencephaly), called neural tube defects. You can prevent other malformations are cleft lip and cleft palate. How are you malformations usually develop about 28 days after conception, before many women realize that they will become mothers, it is desirable to have good reserves of folic acid before becoming pregnant. Three months prior to start looking for the baby is a good time to start to worry about folate or folic acid.
In addition, a recently published study suggests that intake of folic acid before conception is associated with a reduction of between 50 and 70% in the incidence of spontaneous preterm birth. And the risk of spontaneous preterm birth is inversely proportional to the duration of supplementation with folic acid before conception (ie a longer time of supplementation with folic acid, less likely to have a preterm birth).
A diet rich in folate
The daily recommendation for folate for adults is 400 micrograms. This is achieved by the amount of food intake among them brewer's yeast, cereals in general, some vegetables such as cabbage, spinach or chard. To achieve the necessary amount of folate is required eating, for example, 10 g yeast, 200 g of grain or calf's liver, or 300 grams of spinach. Being somewhat higher amounts, it is important to consume these foods in the best conditions, avoiding to the extent possible the loss of folate during processing, storage or cooking.
The conditions of preservation or cooking of food can destroy some nutrients. Excessive exposure to light can cause foods to lose over 60% of the folate they contain. Moreover, being a water-soluble vitamin, can make cooking folates enter the water, so that foods lose nutrients. The high temperatures increase the dissolution in water, so that losses can exceed 40%. To reduce the loss of vitamins, it is recommended to cook vegetables to steam, cook with or consumes too little water and the cooking water.
Given the importance of folate during pregnancy in the prevention of severe malformations, and given that sometimes eating habits may be insufficient to ensure optimal amounts of folic acid, is often recommended to women planning to become pregnant take a vitamin supplement folic acid, at least three months before trying to conceive.
Good to know that certain medications can alter the absorption of folate or folic acid, and we need a greater contribution. Could occur in some people who usually take analgesics (acetaminophen, aspirin), antacids, cortisone, or birth control, among other medicines. In the case of women planning a pregnancy, and who have been taking contraceptives for a prolonged period, you may want to worry a little more to eat adequate amounts of folate, and consult your doctor about the advisability of taking vitamin supplements folic acid.
However, despite all the benefits attributed to folic acid, not everything is rose-color: foods fortified with folic acid, are a source of controversy, as there is no agreement on the quantities of this micronutrient which should contain, and also discovery potential adverse effects. Thus, a study by the United States suggested that, unlike what was believed until now, the supplements of folic acid may exacerbate the risk of colo-rectal benign tumors .
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