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Can Fam Physician
Vol. 54, No. 1, January 2008, pp.36 - 38
Copyright © 2008 by The College of Family Physicians of Canada
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Nutrition Files

Folic acid and prevention of neural tube defects

Milly Ryan-Harshman, PhD RD
Registered dietitian and owner of FEAST Enterprises in Oshawa, Ont

Walid Aldoori, MB BCh MPA ScD
Medical Director at Wyeth Consumer Healthcare Inc in Mississauga, Ont

QUESTION Now that flour and pasta have been fortified with folic acid in Canada, do I still need to recommend folic acid supplements to my patients who are of child-bearing age? If I should recommend supplements, when should I recommend them, and what is an appropriate dose?

ANSWER Non-pregnant women should consume 400 µg of folic acid daily, and pregnant women should consume 600 µg of folic acid daily. Mean intakes of folate in Canada before fortification were around 200 µg/d or less. Fortification increased intake of folic acid by up to 100 µg/d. You should discuss the importance of folic acid with your patients who are planning pregnancy; it is recommended that a folic acid supplement or prenatal multivitamin containing at least 400 µg of folic acid be consumed daily. The upper limit for folic acid is 1 mg/d. Women in intermediate- to high-risk categories for neural tube defects, such as a previous neural tube defect–affected pregnancy, should take 4 to 5 mg of folic acid daily.




This article has been cited by other articles:


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M. McGuire, B. Cleary, L. Sahm, and D.J. Murphy
Prevalence and predictors of periconceptional folic acid uptake--prospective cohort study in an Irish urban obstetric population
Hum. Reprod., February 1, 2010; 25(2): 535 - 543.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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