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Since
the mandatory addition of folic acid to flour, pasta and
other grain products took effect in Canada more than a
decade ago, fewer babies have been born with congenital
heart defects, researchers report. Folic acid, a type of
vitamin B, has been shown to reduce neural tube birth
defects, such as spina bifida or anencephaly. Now it seems
folic acid may also prevent heart defects. In the United
States, the Food and Drug Administration in 1996 required
that folic acid be added to enriched breads, cereals,
flours, corn meals, pastas, rice and other grain products.
By 2004, the number of infants born with spina bifida or
anencephaly had dropped 26 percent, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Quebec, flour
and pasta have been fortified with folic acid since 1998. In
this study, a team at McGill University in Montreal
collected data on 1.3 million births in Quebec from 1990 to
2005. During that period 2,083 children were born with heart
defects, an average of 1.57 for every 1,000 births. The
researchers found a 6 percent decrease in heart defects each
year after folic acid was added to grain products. In
another study reported this year, folic acid intake was
shown to reduce the likelihood of premature birth. Despite a
Canadian awareness campaign launched in 2002, many mothers
still do not take folic acid supplements before becoming
pregnant, the Quebec study noted. "Women at conceptual age
should be aware of the preventive effects of folic acid and
take it before becoming pregnant," the researcher added. |