In Babies and more we unveiled an interesting preventive initiative about a year ago in the United Kingdom, it was proposed to introduce folic acid in some foods to try to reduce the rate of congenital malformations in babies. He shuffled then the possibility of including in the bread an extra contribution of folic acid and later in other foods, it was believed then that the number of babies with neural tube problems could be reduced by up to 40%.
As we always say, it is necessary that several studies are carried out on the same subject and that there is scientific unanimity before applying a measure or solution, we now know a new British study that shows the possible health risks if bread is ingested with an extra load of folic acid. What could benefit the baby would be a risk for the future mother. Scientists from the Food Research Institute, indicate that folic acid does not break down in the stomach, passes to the liver by saturating it and finally pouring this excess directly into the bloodstream. The effects are noted after about twenty years and especially in people who have a more precarious health and who are affected by diseases such as arthritis, people who have a history of intestinal cancer, women with ectopic pregnancies, etc. Interestingly, these results are based only on half the amount of folic acid that the United Kingdom considers to include in food. The effects with the total amount could be really harmful.
Amount and mode of administration are two very important factors, for now we have to wait for new studies that can clarify the issue. In Babies and more we have repeatedly witnessed how some scientific discoveries end up being questioned or revoked by subsequent studies, as we always say, we must be prudent and wait for a full medical and scientific consensus to be shown before proposing a solution that could in the future put at risk the life of our son and our own.
