The brain benefits of folic acid

by Aimee Keenan-Greene 

Adding iron and folic acid to a pregnant mom's diet makes for smarter kids.

Researchers in the December issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association studied whether folic acid (a B-vitamin), iron, and zinc supplementation during gestation affected children's nervous systems and brain functioning age they grew.

Researchers gave women in rural Nepal, India daily iron/folic acid, iron/folic acid/zinc, or multiple micronutrients containing these plus 11 other micronutrients - all with vitamin A.  The control group received vitamin A alone. All were treated from early pregnancy through 3 months postpartum. The study was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial done between 1999 and 2001. 

In all, 676 children were then later evaluated at ages 7-9 back in June of 2007 through April 2009.  Children's functioning was assessed using the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT), go/no-go tests, the Stroop test, backward digit span test, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children test (MABC) and finger-tapping test. 

The differences were significant. Across the board function test scores were better in the group who received iron/folic acid supplements. Aspects of intellectual functioning including working memory, inhibitory control, and fine motor functioning were all associated with prenatal iron/folic acid supplements. 

The first rudiments of the nervous system appear in the third week of gestation; in week four main divisions of the central nervous system are established: forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain and spinal cord. There is more rapid growth of the central nervous system around the 24th week of pregnancy.  

In the US, the Centers for Disease Control say all women of childbearing age who are capable of becoming pregnant should consume 0.4 mg (400 micrograms) of folic acid per day to reduce the risk of spina bifida or other neural tube defects (NTD) in their children.  

The American Academy of Pediatrics  agrees with the US Public Health Service, recommending all women capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 micrograms per day of folic acid. They say although some foods are fortified with folic acid, it is not possible for women to meet the goal through a typical diet. The Academy recommends a daily multivitamin tablet that contains folic acid in the recommended dose. Studies show that if all women of childbearing age met these dietary requirements, 50 percent or more of NTDs could be prevented.