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Prenatal Vitamins Linked to Decreased Autism

by Paula Gallagher | December 13, 2011

Thinking of becoming pregnant? Well, don’t wait until the two pink lines show up on your home pregnancy test to start preparing. It’s important for a woman to start taking a good quality prenatal that contains 800 mg of folic acid as well as iron, calcium and vitamin D3, as soon as she starts trying to conceive (and ideally 3 months before conceiving).

Prenatal vitamins are specially formulated vitamins that help support a woman’s body during pregnancy. The most important reason in the past to take a prenatal was for the increased amount of folic acid. Folic acid combined with a B group vitamin, not only before pregnancy, but during, significantly reduces the possibility of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. This condition can develop in an embryo very early in pregnancy, perhaps even before a woman knows she is carrying a fetus.

However, a recent study has given even more importance to prenatal vitamins. (more…)

Tags: autism, folic acid, neural tube defects, pregnancy, prenatal
Posted in Health Concerns |
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10 Facts About Folic Acid

by Paula Gallagher | November 30, 2010

Folic acid is a B vitamin that can help reduce the risk of neural tube defects by as much as 70% if taken before conception. Folate and folic acid are different terms for the same B vitamin. Folate is found naturally in foods and folic acid is the synthetic form of the vitamin found in multivitamins and supplements.

So why is folic acid important?

Here are 10 facts from New York State’s Department of Health:

1. Each year, about 130 babies who are born in New York State have neural tube defects (NTD). Nationwide, there are 4,000 NTD-affected pregnancies each year. NTDs are disorders of the development of the brain and spinal cord. The most common NTD is spina bifida, or opening of the spine. The most serious NTD is anencephaly, failure of the brain to develop.

2. Up to 70% of NTDs can be prevented if all women who can become pregnant consume 0.4 mg/day of folic acid at least a month prior to conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy. (more…)

Tags: folate, folic acid, neural tube defects, pregnancy, prenatal
Posted in Health Concerns, Nutritional Supplements |
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Increased ADHD if Mom Overweight?

by Paula Gallagher | January 6, 2010

A study out of Europe, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, looked at 2000 Swedish kids and found that there was a reduced ability to pay attention in school or preschool among those whose mothers had been overweight.

Some possible reasons given:

• Excess weight might disrupt mothers’ metabolism, making it harder for nutrients essential to brain development to reach the fetus
• Pregnancy puts huge stress on the metabolism, and excessive weight gain might throw it out of balance – perhaps by raising mothers’ levels of blood glucose, or of the hormone leptin
• Inadequate vitamin D, which is linked to mental development and is known to be present in lower levels in overweight women
• Greater exposure to damaging chemicals, which accumulate in body fat. (more…)

Tags: ADHA, DHA, obesity, pregnancy, prenatal, vitamin D3
Posted in Health Concerns, Nutritional Supplements |
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