Good sources of folic acid?

Carrots are NOT a good source for folic acid. Good sources are leafy, dark green vegetables, citrus fruits and juices, most berries, legumes, and enriched breads and pastas. In other words, fortified breakfast cereals, black beans and orange juice are all recommended sources. Foods high in folic acid should be included in pregnant women's diets, but taking a multivitamin is the best way to ensure the daily recommended allowance of 400 micrograms.

The Swedish and U.S. researchers found that folate deficiency was associated with a fifty percent increase in risk of early miscarriage. This, coupled with the already known risk of birth defects related to folate deficiency, reinforces the need for women who are of childbearing age to get adequate folic acid in their diet.

The miscarriage study was conducted in Sweden because the grain supply there is not fortified with folic acid as it is here in the United States. Folate deficiency in American women has decreased dramatically since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandated fortification of folate in certain grain products in 1998. Researchers were better able to study the effects of folate deficiency in a population where food products aren't fortified. The study was published last fall in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Resources:

Read about the Swedish study in this news release from the National Institutes of Health.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration publishes a fact sheet about the folic acid fortification program underway in the States.

The March of Dimes Web site offers a detailed discussion of folic acid and its uses.