What is folate, and why is it important? @Mayo Clinic: Folate, or vitamin B-9, is important in red blood cell formation and for healthy cell growth and function. The nutrient is crucial during early pregnancy to reduce the risk of birth defects of the brain and spine. Folic acid, the synthetic form of folate, is an essential component of prenatal vitamins and is in many fortified foods such as bread, cereals, and pastas. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
Folic acid is essential to the diets of women of childbearing age because it helps prevent major birth defects of baby’s brain and spine. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
The #1 source of folic acid in the American diet is enriched grains! Enjoy enriched grain foods like breads, tortillas, cereals, and pasta. @GrainFoods #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
Every 4.5 minutes a baby is born with a birth defect. Help us raise awareness for these conditions this January during #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth. From pregnancy, infancy, childhood, adolescence, to adulthood #EveryJourneyMatters!
@CDCgov named enriched grains, rather than supplements, as responsible for lowering the rate of neural tube birth defects by approximately one-third in the US. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #EveryJourneyMatters
@CDCgov proclaimed folic acid fortification of enriched grains as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the first decade of the 21st century. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #EveryJourneyMatters #GetGrains
Did you know? Hispanic babies are at higher risk of neural tube defects, according to @CDCgov. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #EveryJourneyMatters #GetGrains
Women ages 15-45 should consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to help prevent two types of neural tube defects, spina bifida and anencephaly. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
Good-tasting grain foods can help you reach your folic acid goals. Two slices of white bread = 85 mcg of folic acid, one cup of cereal = 300 mcg, and one cup of pasta = 100 mcg. @GrainFoods #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
@Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds that folic acid, the form of the B vitamin used to fortify foods like bread, is better absorbed in the body. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
@March of Dimes: Neural tube defects (NTDs) affect some 3,000 US pregnancies annually. If women take 400 mcg of folic acid daily before getting pregnant and during early pregnancy, it may help prevent up to 7 in 10 (70%) of NTDs. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
Because nearly half of all US pregnancies are unplanned, @MarchofDimes recommends women who can get pregnant take folic acid daily to help prevent neural tube defects. Enriched grains like bread are important sources of folic acid. #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
Boost your folate intake with this pineapple avocado chicken salad recipe full of fruits and veggies. It makes a great sandwich on enriched bread which is fortified with folic acid and contains more per slice than whole wheat bread: https://tinyurl.com/ymh3b2m6. @MyPlategov #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
Enjoy an easy soup recipe that features folate-rich broccoli! Add enriched bread or rolls which are fortified with folic acid to increase your daily intake of this B vitamin critical to early fetal development: https://tinyurl.com/53catx23. @MyPlategov #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
Legumes like lentils are good sources of folate for women of childbearing age. Pair this easy stew with enriched bread or tortillas, which are fortified with folic acid to meet your nutrition goals: https://tinyurl.com/bp57h2pf. @MyPlategov #BirthDefectsAwarenessMonth #GetGrains
