To highlight Folic Acid Awareness Week, we’re sharing the infographic, Why Folic Acid Matters: Start a Healthy Habit Today.
Most people know that folic acid can help prevent congenital disabilities, but it’s not just for pregnant people. Folic acid has many health benefits for women and men of all ages.
Learn more below about folic acid deficiency, fast facts and next steps for you.
Click the embedded links in the infographic pdf to learn more!
Further Info & Studies
NTDs are major birth defects of the brain and spine that occur early in pregnancy as a result of improper closure of the embryonic neural tube, which can lead to death or varying degrees of disability. The two most common NTDs are anencephaly and spina bifida.
Beginning in 1998, the United States mandated fortification of enriched cereal grain products with 140 µg of folic acid per 100 g (2). Immediately after mandatory fortification, the birth prevalence of NTD cases declined.
The birth prevalence of NTDs (proportion of babies in the population born with an NTD) has decreased by 35% in the United States, since folic acid fortification was required in 1998.
Study: Updated Estimates of Neural Tube Defects Prevented by Mandatory Folic Acid Fortification — United States, 1995–2011