Even while still trying to conceive, folic acid is one prenatal supplement you will surely be advised to take. How is it then possible that there is a downside to this most important nutrient needed to prevent neural tube defect in a developing foetus?
New research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg College of Public Health suggests that taking too much folate while pregnant can raise the risk of a child developing Autism Spectrum Disorder. They conducted a study on 1,391 pairs of mothers and their babies in the Boston Birth Cohort, who were recruited at the time of birth of the babies, between 1998 and 2013, and followed for several years. The folate level of these mothers were checked once within 3 days after delivery, and it was found that 1 in every 10 of these women had excess amount of folate, while another 6 percent had an excess amount of vitamin B12.
The conclusion from this study is that if a woman has an excess amount of folate in her blood (about 4 times more than the 13.5-45.3 nanomoles per litre range stipulated by WHO) soon after delivery, the risk of her child having autism is doubled. If she has an excess of vitamin B12, the risk is tripled; and when an excess amount of folate is accompanied by an excess amount of vitamin B12, the risk is 17.6 times greater.
Now before you panic, the emphasis is on the quantity being consumed. Too little, and you put your child at risk; too much and you also put your child at risk.
“Adequate supplementation is protective: That’s still the story with folic acid,” says one of the study’s senior authors, M. Daniele Fallin, PhD, director of the Bloomberg School’s Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. “We have long known that a folate deficiency in pregnant mothers is detrimental to her child’s development. But what this tells us is that excessive amounts may also cause harm. We must aim for optimal levels of this important nutrient.”
The important question is what exactly is the optimal level of folate to be consumed in pregnancy?
Well, scientists require more research to define what the optimal level is; but the best course of action would be to stay within the dosage prescribed by your health care provider. Most of the women who were studied were reported to have taken multivitamins which contain folic acid and vitamin B12 throughout pregnancy, just as most pregnant women who want to stay healthy would. However, the researchers who can’t find an explanation for such high levels in their blood, think they might have taken too many folic acid-fortified foods or taken too many supplements, or that some women are genetically predisposed to absorbing greater quantities of folate or metabolizing it slower.
Source: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg College of Public Health
