 |
Dietary Folic Acids : Why Do We Need Them More?
Author: Tarun Gupta  | Posted: 13-11-2007 | Comments: 0 | Views: 19 | Rating: (50)  (?) 
Macho-man – that’s what most of the kids next door aspire to be, especially when cable operators keep on pounding their little minds with Arnold movies! This reflects the natural animal tendency to grow strong and live healthy, & we are no exception as far as basic instincts are concerned! For a healthy body & a sound mind, proper cellular nutrition is a major determining factor & folic acid is one such component that plays a significant part in cell division & growth.
In a biological system, a meshwork of molecules is involved in various metabolic activities at cellular levels, churning out a potpourri of free radicals & oxidants. Now these free radicals & oxidants may cause mayhem within the cell as they can oxidize and damage many inherent molecules including DNA! Now, various reports have suggested that folic acid, which is commonly known as folate or better, as vitamin B9, acts as a “good-cop” protecting the cells with its “anti-oxidant gun”! It is also responsible for the synthesis of two of the four basic monomers the DNA is built up of i.e. adenine and thymine. So, besides its antioxidant activity, it also helps in proper DNA replication & transcription which is central to a biological cell, as a processor is to a computer!
The deficiency of folic acid may kick in a cascade of several disorders like, atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, cervical and colon cancer, osteoporosis, depression, dementia, cleft lip and palate, hearing loss, and of course, neural tube defects (NTD).
It has been observed that, if consumed daily, in required amount by women during early pregnancy, folic acids reduces the risk of any serious Neural tube defect (a birth defect involving incomplete development of the brain and spinal cord) to their babies by up to 70%! So, folic acid is an essential component for pregnant women & their babies as it helps the infant put up a fight against several neural disorders of brain and spinal cord like spina bifida, anencephaly and encephalocele.
Gradual positive changes can be observed if high amounts of folic acid are taken before or during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Folic acid is specifically important one month before conception and at least three months afterwards. If omitted at an early stage or if consumed later on, it fails to show its usefulness.
Though, folic acid even in very high levels is non-toxic, but still CDC i.e. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that a woman, during pregnancy, should not take more than 1000µg of synthetic folic acid a day, in normal conditions. Though, it varies from 0.4 mg/day to 10 mg/day or more depending on the severity of the folic acid deficiency & the problem associated.
Folic acid needs vitamins B12 and B6 as catalysts to carry out its functions effectively. So, it won’t be of any use without appropriate presence of these vitamins. The RDA recommendation for vitamin B12 generally ranges from 0.5 to 1.0 mg/day and for vitamin-B6 from 10 to 250 mg/day.
Recent studies have reveled that folic acid also helps in the formation of normal red blood cells (RBC). This diverse array of functions certainly requires us to have sufficient quantities of folic acid in our diet!
Rate this Article:
Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/dietary-folic-acids-why-do-we-need-them-more-258001.html
|
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free! |
|
Latest Medicine Articles
Advantages of Using Clenbuterol
By: Editor-123 | 07/10/2008
Clenbuterol is widely prescribed medication for asthmatic cure. The drug is anabolic to muscle and catabolic to fat. Clenbuterol is beta 2 symphatomimetic.
Removal of Kidney Stones Surgery: Easy to Afford in India
By: Mitesh Janiyani | 07/10/2008
The cost of kidney stone removal surgery in India is very low when compared to that in many western countries.
Communicable Disease Control for Measles
By: drrachna | 06/10/2008
This surveillance system for measles differs from other common disease pertussis and diphtheria because, the measles is now rare disease in Australia and almost rarely case be obtained so far, but other disease such as pertussis is not categorise in rare disease and not in stage of complete eradication, measles is viral disease it is found to most commonly affected more number of case to male than compare to females incidence rate of measles is 1.4:1 ,whereas pertussis female ratios are high wh
The Crisis in ADD/ADHD Diagnosis, What Caused It?
By: Jimmy Brownen | 06/10/2008
The prevalence of the ADD/ADHD diagnosis does not definitely indicate that something is dreadfully wrong with the nation's children, but rather that something has definitely changed. Although some cases of out-of-control children being diagnosed with ADD/ADHD are most likely due to nutritional imbalances and deficiencies as well as allergies and...
White Teeth
By: Raul Ibbott | 06/10/2008
This article is dedicated to the importance of teeth whitening.
Acne Prevention - 5 Tips to Prevent Acne as Easy as 1 2 3!
By: Wong Darren | 06/10/2008
Acne - a skin condition that only a few escapes can be extremely embarrassing for someone suffering from it. But although it is very nearly inevitable, with a handful tips on proper maintenance of skin, diet, hair and little physical exercise you can prevent acne or stop further spread of...
Medical Transcription Services – New Business Trends
By: Antonius Fastersetin | 06/10/2008
Its a fact, that in todays corporate world the need for medical transcription services is expanding at near exponential perportions. In layman's terms, the task of a medical transcriber is record medical data and records into soft copy format that can then be read by individuals. Due to the diverse range of medical specialties, there is an almost equal number of dictation specialists to address them individually.
Tips to Find Effective Corporate Health Insurance Plans
By: Micheal | 06/10/2008
These days the proverb "Health is wealth" is in more command than the previous saying "Wealth is gone nothing is lost health is gone something is lost, but character is lost everything is lost".
More from Tarun Gupta
Steroidal Use by Young Women: a Focus on Women, Steroids & Sports
By: Tarun Gupta | 18/09/2008 | Wellness
Steroids, once notoriously famous for their abuse by bodybuilders, fitness buffs, and professional athletes, have found their way into wardrobes of many young damsels nowadays.
Teenage Steroid Use: a Disturbing Trend Amongst High School Kids
By: Tarun Gupta | 18/09/2008 | Health
Steroids are well famous for their testosterone simulating properties of building muscle mass and enhancing endurance and thus have been notoriously abused to boost stamina and athletic performance since shortly after their conception. As a result, the incidences of non-medicinal use of steroids have increased considerably in recent years, particularly amongst adolescents & high school students often without their parents ever getting to know about it!
Common Steroid Pills: Types & Effects of Use
By: Tarun Gupta | 18/09/2008 | Health
Search Engines, what a luxury they are! For they are a real comfort to those bootlegging myriad of extrajudicial poppin’ pills, which frequently include Steroids! These pills are often based on various male sex hormones that lead to the development of secondary male sexual characteristics, for instance, testosterone. They are medically termed as Androgens & Anabolic Steroids, although on the street, they are better known as - juices, toners or candy!
Steroids: Who Uses Steroids & Why?
By: Tarun Gupta | 18/09/2008 | Health
Steroids have no doubt, proved their medicinal worth over a period of time; however, they have also been notoriously abused for their muscle building attributes. Consequently, they have, since long, been put to an auxiliary use for increasing the muscular mass and physical strength, particularly by people involved in different sports and bodybuilding.
All About Anabolic Steroids: Types, General Effects, Conceptions & Misconceptions
By: Tarun Gupta | 18/09/2008 | Health
Steroids or anabolic steroids are a class of hormones affecting the development and growth of sex organs. The artificially synthesized hormones are frequently related to the hormone testosterone which is a potent androgenic hormone produced chiefly by the testes in males and & also to lesser extent by ovaries in females.
Testosterone Levels: How Do They Change Over Time?
By: Tarun Gupta | 18/09/2008 | Health
We all go through a range of dynamically regulated hormonal changes through different stages of our lives. These changes are characteristic to many variables such as age, sex, pathological condition, and exogenous administration of drugs or in the form of dietary steroids.
Testosterone / Epitestosterone Ratio: How is it Significant?
By: Tarun Gupta | 18/09/2008 | Health
Testosterone is an anabolic steroid & a potent androgenic hormone which is produced naturally in the body by the male testes as well as female ovaries, although the proportional production in males and females vary significantly.
Basics of Steroid Testing: a Layman’s Guide to Steroids
By: Tarun Gupta | 18/09/2008 | Health
Testosterone, which is a type of anabolic-androgenic steroids, is known to build muscle tissue & cause the development of male secondary sex characteristics.
|
|
Health 
