What is folate (or folic acid), 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. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #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. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #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 #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
Every 4.5 minutes a baby is born with a birth defect. Help us raise awareness for these conditions this January during #BirthDefects Awareness Month. 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 U.S. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #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. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #EveryJourneyMatters #GetGrains
Did you know, Hispanic babies are at higher risk of neural tube defects, according to @CDCgov. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #EveryJourneyMatters #GetGrains
Women ages 15-45 should consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to help prevent 2 types of neural tube defects - spina bifida & anencephaly. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
DYK good-tasting grain foods can help you reach your folic acid goals? 2 slices of white bread = 85 mcg of folic acid, 1 cup of cereal = 300 mcg, and 1 cup of pasta = 100 mcg. @GrainFoods # #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
(NOTE: there is a GFF infographic that could be used here)
@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, or more bioavailable, to the body. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
@March of Dimes: Neural tube defects (NTDs) affect some 3,000 U.S. pregnancies annually. If women take 400 mcg of folic acid daily before getting pregnant & during early pregnancy, it may help prevent up to 7 in 10 (70%t) of NTDs. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
Because nearly half of all U.S. 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. #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
Pump up your folic acid consumption with this hearty black bean soup, perfect for cold winter days (or nights)! Serve with toasted enriched bread or bagels which are fortified with folic acid. http://tinyurl.com/3v4n2wfx @MyPlategov #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
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Looking for a fast meal that contributes folate/folic acid to your diet? Try Speedy Burritos with eggs, veggies, & tortillas, all good sources of the B vitamin mportant for women of childbearing age. http://tinyurl.com/mr75b3vd @MyPlategov #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
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This Main Dish Salad is full of healthy, folate-rich veggies. Make it better by adding enriched bread or rolls which are fortified with folic acid, critical for early fetal development. http://tinyurl.com/3n9bfrfe @MyPlategov #BirthDefects Awareness Month #GetGrains
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