Studies tout benefits of folic acid

WASHINGTON - Folic acid is getting renewed attention: Not only does it fight spina bifida and some related abnormalities, new research shows it also could prevent premature birth and heart defects.

Now pregnancy specialists are asking whether it is time for the government to boost the amount being added to certain foods to help ensure mothers-to-be get enough. But for older adults, there may be a down side to the nutrient: Extra-high levels late in life might pose a risk for colon cancer and other types of cancer.

Folic acid is an artificial version of folate, a B vitamin found in leafy green vegetables, citrus fruit, and dried beans. Everyone needs regular folate because it's important for healthy cell growth, yet the body doesn't store enough of it.

And pregnant women need extra. Enough folate in pregnancy's earliest days can prevent devastating birth defects of the spine and brain called neural tube defects, including spina bifida.

Those defects have dropped by about a third since the United States mandated fortifying certain breads, cereals, and pastas with folic acid in January 1998.

Two major studies in the past month suggest the vitamin could be even more protective.

First, Texas researchers analyzed nearly 35,000 pregnancies and found that women who reported taking folic acid supplements for at least a year before becoming pregnant cut in half their risk of having a premature baby. Their risk of having very early preemies, the babies least likely to survive, dropped even more.

Then Canadian researchers analyzed 1.3 million births in Quebec since 1990 to look for heart defects, the most common type of birth defect. They found the rate of serious heart defects has dropped 6 percent a year since Canada began its own food fortification in December 1998.