Also called: Also called: Folacin, Folate, Pteroylglutamic acid, Vitamin B9
Folic acid is a B vitamin. It helps the body make healthy new cells. Everyone needs folic acid. For women who may get pregnant, it is really important. When a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and during pregnancy, it can prevent major birth defects of her baby's brain or spine.
Foods with folic acid in them include leafy green vegetables, fruits, dried beans, peas and nuts. Enriched breads, cereals and other grain products also contain folic acid. If you don't get enough folic acid from the foods you eat, you can also take it as a dietary supplement.
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements
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Folic Acid
(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/folic-acid.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/preguntas/folic.htm - Folic Acid(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/index.html
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Folate
(National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) - http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/folate.asp
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Folic Acid(Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction) - http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/common/folic-acid.html
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JAMA Patient Page: Folic Acid(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/296/22/2758.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/296/22/2758/DC1/1
- Folic Acid Might Offer Allergy Relief(04/30/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83628.html
- Folic Acid Supplements Raise Prostate Cancer Risk(03/10/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81528.html
- Mediterranean Diet May Help Prevent Spina Bifida(02/12/2009, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_80253.html
- Folic Acid(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/content/eto_5_3x_folic_acid.asp?sitearea=eto
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Folic Acid Questions and Answers(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/faqs.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/spanish/spfaq.htm
- Homocysteine, Folic Acid, and Cardiovascular Disease(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4677
- Folic Acid IQ(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/1808_1945.asp
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Folic Acid Quiz(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/quiz.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/spanish/spquiz.htm
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Folic Acid Deficiency(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Folic+Acid+Deficiency%22
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Folic Acid for the Prevention of Infant Neural Tube Defects: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation(American College of Physicians) - Links to PDF - http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/150/9/I-50.pdf
- Study Finds Folic Acid Not Cardioprotective, Though Safe(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=580
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Folic acid and risk of prostate cancer: results from a... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19276452&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Maternal vitamin B12 status and risk of neural tube defects... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19255021&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Folic acid, pyridoxine, and cyanocobalamin combination treatment and age-related macular... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19237716&tool=MedlinePlus
- Folic Acid -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=folic+acid[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+systematic[sb])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])+AND+english[la]&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Nutrient Lists(Dept. of Agriculture) - Links to PDF - http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=15869
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March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation - http://www.marchofdimes.com/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nacersano.org/
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National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/defaultspan.htm
- Blood Folate Levels(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db06.htm
- Vitamins - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vitamins.html
- Food and Nutrition - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/foodandnutrition.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Folic Acid is the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements - http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/