Essay Example on Boost Your Health with Folic Acid: The Benefits of Vitamin B9

Folic acid, a form of vitamin B9 known as folate, plays a vital function in the production of red blood cells and helps reduce specific congenital disabilities. Folate can be found naturally in dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges; beans; tomatoes, and meat such as in kidney and beef liver(Kong et al. 50). Since 1998, the federal law required folic acid to be added to some foods such as flour, cookies, bread, crackers, and pasta. Intake of folic acid in generous amounts helps improve folate deficiency. However, it has been proved that the amount of folic acid in food is not enough, hence the need for folic acid supplements.

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Folic acid supplements are needed for the proper development of the body. This is because it plays an essential role in the formation of DNA, an essential genetic material, among other benefits. However, in the recent past, there have been a number of myths and misconceptions about folic acid supplements having some adverse negative effects on the population. The following are some of the advantages and disadvantages of folic acid supplements.

First and foremost, folic acid supplement intake by pregnant women helps reduce some spinal cord and brain congenital disabilities, commonly referred to as neural tube defects. (Wilson et al. 540). Pregnant women should understand that congenital disabilities in most babies occur during the first day, three to four weeks of pregnancy. It's, therefore, essential to have folate in their system during such an early stage since it's when the development of the spinal cord and brain of the baby takes place. For instance, the CDC advocates for women to start taking 600 to 800 mcg of folic acid supplements daily for a period of about one month before conception.

One study revealed that women who take supplements reduce their chances of delivering preterm babies by more than 50%. Folic acid is useful in the treatment and prevention of low levels of blood; folate deficiency, hence prevents the chances of miscarriages in the first three months of pregnancy. Neural tube defects such as the Spina bifida, a condition in which the fetal back and spine do not close in the uterus, have been reduced by 70%. Although it is not common, Spina bifida can cause many conditions to the baby, such as movement problems, difficulties in learning, and bowel and bladder issues.

Pregnant women with diabetes, epilepsy, heavy alcohol consumers or have a history of neural tube effects are advised to consume a dose of 5mgs of folic acid since they have a higher risk of bearing a pregnancy with neural tube defects. Some health conditions, such as gout, can be reduced by the intake of folic acid supplements.

Folic acid helps reduce the effects of severe kidney diseases such as ESRD and the final stage of renal disease. Although taking folic acid does not reduce heart disease risks, it has been proved to reduce the levels of homocysteine by 20% to 30% in persons suffering from kidney disease. Excess levels of homocysteine cause stroke and heart disease, and about 85% of kidney disease patients have homocysteine at high levels.

Daily intake of folic acid seems to lower vomiting and nausea caused by the toxicity and side effects of certain drugs such as the methotrexate treatment. Also, regular intakes of folic acid have been observed to improve the symptoms of vitiligo, which is a condition of the skin having some white patches.

Research reveals that intake of folic acid and other vitamins such as B6 and B12 lowers the risk of AMD, macular degeneration related to age. The disease of the eye that causes vision loss in old adults, is significantly reduced. Additionally, folic acid, when taken together or without other vitamins, has been proved to improve the thinking skills and memory of old adults with issues in the decline of such skills. Folic acid is seen to work well in people with folate deficiency. Also, hearing loss, a condition associated with old age, is observed to be lower in adults who take folic supplements for some time.

Depression patients seem to have improved symptoms anytime they take folic acid together with antidepressants. It has also been proven that persons with high blood pressure can reduce their pressure when they take folic acid daily for a period of 6 weeks. In countries that don't fortify cereals and grains with folic acid have been proved to have reduced the risk of stroke by 10% to 25%.

Some side effects of certain drugs, such as gum enlargement caused by Phenytoin, seem to be reduced by applying folic acid to the gums. However, oral intake of folic acid has not been found to improve the symptoms of this problem. When pregnant, women apply folic acid to their gums, which improves gum diseases.

Children with beta-thalassemia, a blood disorder that reduces hemoglobin levels in the blood, take folic acid since it helps increase strength and lower bone pain. Also, it's been proven that mothers who took the supplements in their last 23 weeks during pregnancy help improve a child's mental activities in their development. Also, the risk of giving birth to babies with heart conditions is significantly reduced as well as the overall average weight of babies at birth has dramatically increased in the recent past. Children with epilepsy have been observed to have reduced seizures when they take folic acid supplements. Finally, the risk of cleft lip and cleft palate is lower in mothers who took folic acid during pregnancy.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms that lead to leg discomfort can be reduced by daily intake of folate supplements. Also, the adverse effects of schizophrenia can be reduced.

Despite folic acid having various advantages, it also poses some serious health issues to some patients, mainly when used to treat some health defects. First, it is unsafe to take folic acid orally in large doses for an extended period of time. Daily intake of folic acid more than 1mg can lead to diarrhea, nausea, seizures, stomach upsets, irritability, and behavior changes, among others.

There have also been questions about taking folic acid for a long term on heart-related conditions. Research shows that daily intake of the supplements in doses of 800 mcg to 1.2mg increases the risk of heart attacks in heart conditions patients.

Other researchers have found that the intake of folic acid in high doses increases the risk of cancer, such as prostate and lung cancer. Cancer patients should, therefore, refrain from taking folic acid in high doses. Patients recovering from the angioplasty, a procedure for widening narrow arteries, should not use folic acid. This is because the oral intake of folic acid worsens the narrowed arteries.

The presence of folic acid in other tablets that are multivitamin may be risky during pregnancy if they contain vitamin A. A combination of folic acid and high levels of vitamin A can cause severe complications in development, especially in the first trimester. Additionally, folic acid might hide anemia, which is caused by a lack of vitamin B12 hence delaying its treatment.

Finally, research shows that folic acid consumption can higher the risk of preterm deaths in countries around the globe where malaria is widespread. Intake of folic acid also worsens seizures in patients of seizure disorders.

Conclusion

From the above arguments, it is evident that folic acid's benefits by far surpass its side effects. Folic acid plays a vital role in pregnancy development, reduces severe negative impacts of kidney diseases, and helps reduce the impact of old age on the loss of vision, among others. There are also side effects such as the widening of narrow arteries in patients who have undergone the angioplasty procedure and increases the risk of cancer in patients. Much is, however, not known or proved on the effect of folic acid on other conditions such as breast cancer, diarrhea in children, chronic fatigue syndrome, need for removing cataracts, and prevention of falling in older adults, leukemia, and death of unborn babies among others. However, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, hence stating that folic acid supplements are needed for the proper development of the body is right.

Work Cited

Kong, Dezhao, et al. "Development of ic-ELISA and lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay strip for the detection of folic acid in energy drinks and milk samples." Food and Agricultural Immunology 27.6 (2016): 841-854.

Okereke, Olivia I., et al. "Effect of long-term supplementation with folic acid and B vitamins on risk of depression in older women." The British Journal of Psychiatry 206.4 (2015): 324-331

Veterans, Sreenivas P., et al. "Maternal folic acid supplementation during pregnancy and early childhood asthma." Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) 26.6 (2015): 934.

Wilson, R. Douglas, et al. "Pre-conception folic acid and multivitamin supplementation for the primary and secondary prevention of neural tube defects and other folic acid-sensitive congenital anomalies." Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 37.6 (2015): 534-549