According to a new study published today in the Journal of Endocrinology, mothers who take high levels of folic acid during pregnancy may put their daughters at risk for diabetes and obesity later in life. The study emphasizes the necessity to define a safe maximum limit of folic acid intake for pregnant women given the use of high dose supplements.
Rats were given 20 times the daily recommended dose of folic acid by a Portuguese study team from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto and the Catholic University of Portugal throughout mating, pregnancy, and lactation.
These rats gave birth to offspring who later developed insulin resistance and were overweight as adults. The babies also developed erratic feeding habits and lacked enough of the hormone adiponectin, which guards against diabetes and obesity. The severity of each of these symptoms was greater in adult females.
On the other hand, rats that consumed the advised daily dose of folic acid had offspring that developed into healthier adults. In especially during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, folic acid consumption must be enough to lower the chance of babies being born with neural tube disorders like spina bifida.
Considering the increasing amount of folic acid consumed during pregnancy through fortified foods, multivitamin pills and supplements, the search for a safe upper dose of folic acid is urgently needed. Our study clarifies the potential effects of excess folic acid exposure and may play an important role on rethinking current public health policies surrounding folic acid supplementation.
Professor Elisa Keating
Healthy pregnant women are advised by the World Health Organization to consume 0.4 mg of folic acid daily. Ten times this amount is advised for women who have a family history of neural tube abnormalities; 5 mg folic acid supplements are easily accessible for this purpose.
Despite the fact that folic acid consumption by pregnant women worldwide is rising due to food fortification regulations, readily accessible supplements, and multivitamins, few research have examined the safe upper limit of folic acid intake.
“While taking a minimum of 0.4mg of folic acid per day is essential when pregnant, our study shows that it is possible to have too much of a good thing”, said lead author of the study Professor Elisa Keating.
“Considering the increasing amount of folic acid consumed during pregnancy through fortified foods, multivitamin pills and supplements, the search for a safe upper dose of folic acid is urgently needed. Our study clarifies the potential effects of excess folic acid exposure and may play an important role on rethinking current public health policies surrounding folic acid supplementation.”
The methods by which folic acid influences the metabolism of rat offspring are still under investigation, and the researchers will look into how their findings might be used to make recommendations for human health.
