Folic Acid / folate

Hi Atomic, I was wondering whether you’ve ever written about the conflicting information there is online about folate? Clearly it seems to be critical for women who are TTC but there is some scary stuff online about taking too much (below is an extract from something I came across tonight).

5 months ago I lost my perfectly healthy daughter when I was 23 weeks pregnant due to a placental abruption. She had been a twin, but we lost our other baby in the first trimester due to a trisomy. I’ve read so many things online in trying to make sense of my loss but also to try and prevent anything going try in another pregnancy, if I’m fortunate to fall again. I am turning 38 this year. Thank you for any clarity you can provide on the dos and donts when it comes to folate!



[[It isn't just about actual food consumption when it comes to increasing your odds of a multiple pregnancy, certain vitamins can also affect your ovulation.

Specifically, women attempting to conceive who take folic acid supplements can be increasing their odds for a multiple pregnancy.

While many women take the vitamin before and during pregnancy to reduce the chances of birth defects like spina bifida, the supplement can almost double the chances of becoming pregnant with twins or more.

However, before you run to the drugstore to stock up on folic acid, know this. Babies born from the mothers in the study taking folic acid supplements tended to be born premature and suffer from other birth defects like cerebral palsy. Needless to say, the risks of taking a folic acid supplement may outweigh the benefits.

The rate of twins born to mothers taking folic acid supplements, in this study, was 2.8% which is almost twice the typical 1.5% of twin births on average.]]]


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I am so terribly sorry to hear of your loss.

Yes, I have, but happy to go over it again.

The data does NOT indicate that folic/folate causes twins. Researchers studied this phenomenon and concluded that it's much more likely that taking folic/folate simply enables both babies to survive and develop normally instead of becoming a vanishing twin which is really very common (and happened to me personally). We actually have kind of done a "study" on this ourselves on this site, where we find pink swayers (even without using Clomid) have far more twins than blue swayers even though blue swayers are taking MORE folic acid/folate. So I do not find that to be in any way a legit concern; if it were, we'd be seeing way more twins in our blue swayers than in our pink ones but we don't.

There are several studies that indicate that folic/folate PREVENT preterm birth and cerebral palsy among many other issues - NTDs, of course, but also possibly chromosomal abnormalities. Here are two: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19434228 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26138063 I think it is misguided to fear folic/folate when it is the only supplement ever proven to prevent birth defects when taken before conception.

Many of us, myself included, were prescribed 4000-5000 mcg F/FA. The amount I recommend is a fraction of that and the reason why I do so is because I conceived a baby with a neural tube defect taking 800 mcg folic acid daily and eating a very healthy and varied diet (he is thankfully fine with only a minor NTD) So I have firsthand experience that even 800 is not enough and thus I recommend 1200-1600 since swayers are eating a more restricted diet.

There is some data that indicates high levels of folic acid in a mother's blood AT BIRTH may be linked to autism and also that taking high dose folic in the third tri may cause asthma. But we wean off the f/FA months before that and additionally, the high levels in the blood are NOT NORMAL - the body should excrete folic acid and that it doesn't, means something is happening in the bodies of these women that is making them continue to store folic acid (and this can be done via diet and just a standard dose, not megadoses, since most people don't even take megadoses anyway) Plus, by taking folate, you prevent these concerns anyway as folate is better used by the body and doesn't get stored up the way folic acid does.

I hope this helps to alleviate your concerns. The SINGLE best thing you can do for a healthy pregnancy is to take folate or folic acid. If you have any reason to believe you have MTHFR or similar genetic mutation, take folate instead, but most people can tolerate folic acid just fine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by atomic sagebrush

I am so terribly sorry to hear of your loss.

Yes, I have, but happy to go over it again.

The data does NOT indicate that folic/folate causes twins. Researchers studied this phenomenon and concluded that it's much more likely that taking folic/folate simply enables both babies to survive and develop normally instead of becoming a vanishing twin which is really very common (and happened to me personally). We actually have kind of done a "study" on this ourselves on this site, where we find pink swayers (even without using Clomid) have far more twins than blue swayers even though blue swayers are taking MORE folic acid/folate. So I do not find that to be in any way a legit concern; if it were, we'd be seeing way more twins in our blue swayers than in our pink ones but we don't.

There are several studies that indicate that folic/folate PREVENT preterm birth and cerebral palsy among many other issues - NTDs, of course, but also possibly chromosomal abnormalities. Here are two: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19434228 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26138063 I think it is misguided to fear folic/folate when it is the only supplement ever proven to prevent birth defects when taken before conception.

Many of us, myself included, were prescribed 4000-5000 mcg F/FA. The amount I recommend is a fraction of that and the reason why I do so is because I conceived a baby with a neural tube defect taking 800 mcg folic acid daily and eating a very healthy and varied diet (he is thankfully fine with only a minor NTD) So I have firsthand experience that even 800 is not enough and thus I recommend 1200-1600 since swayers are eating a more restricted diet.

There is some data that indicates high levels of folic acid in a mother's blood AT BIRTH may be linked to autism and also that taking high dose folic in the third tri But we wean off the f/FA months before that and additionally, the high levels in the blood are NOT NORMAL - the body should excrete folic acid and that it doesn't, means something is happening in the bodies of these women that is making them continue to store folic acid (and this can be done via diet and just a standard dose, not megadoses, since most people don't even take megadoses anyway) Plus, by taking folate, you prevent these concerns anyway as folate is better used by the body and doesn't get stored up the way folic acid does.

I hope this helps to alleviate your concerns. The SINGLE best thing you can do for a healthy pregnancy is to take folate or folic acid. If you have any reason to believe you have MTHFR or similar genetic mutation, take folate instead, but most people can tolerate folic acid just fine.

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Thank you so much for putting my mind at ease Atomic. I had been talking higher doses over recent months but then I got nervous the more conflicting things I read ... the internet is full of BS, and especially so when it comes to swaying!! I will continue to take the folate. Best wishes xx


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