Folic acid has no known toxic level. If you were to eat a bowl of fully fortified cereal (400 micrograms), take a folic acid supplement (400 mcg), and eat fortified foods and foods rich in folate, women of reproductive age would not have a problem with too much folic acid. Even in very high amounts folic acid is non-toxic. Nevertheless, it is recommended that women consume no more than 1,000 micrograms of synthetic folic acid a day. Large amounts of folic acid may hide the ability to quickly diagnose a rare vitamin B-12 deficiency, pernicious anemia. This condition primarily affects the elderly population and, in some cases, can lead to neurological damage. Today, doctors can use a simple test to check for a B-12 deficiency.
Findings from a survey conducted during July-August 1998 to assess folic acid knowledge and practices among women of childbearing age in the United States indicate that of all women surveyed, only 13% knew that folic acid helps prevent birth defects, and only 7% knew that folic acid should be taken before pregnancy to prevent the birth defects. Since then a survey conducted in 2000 has shown no change in knowledge about folic acid.
Contact: Donna Vandergraff, Phone: 765-494-8228, E-mail: vandergraff@purdue.edu
Funded by Folic Acid Council grant from March of Dimes.
