What Is folic acid?
Folic acid is a B vitamin and is also known as folate when it occurs naturally in foods. Foods that naturally contain folic acid include:
 
 
 
High in folic acid:

Brussels sprouts
Cooked black eye beans
Spinach
Granary bread
Spring greens
Broccoli
green beans

Medium in folic acid:

Cooked soya beans
Cooked chickpeas
Cauliflower
Iceberg lettuce
Oranges and grapefruit
Peas
Parsnips
Wholemeal bread
Cabbage
Eggs
Brown rice
yoghurt

Food with added folic acid:

Some breads
Some cereals

What Are the Risks?
Spina bifida and other neural tube defects are caused when the neural tube (which goes on to become the baby's spine), does not form properly. If a baby is born with spina bifida, one or two of the bones in the spine fail to develop properly and leave a gap, resulting in damage to the nerves and spinal cord. This can affect babies in different ways.
Medical studies have shown that women who increase their intake of folic acid at the time their baby's spine is developing, reduce the risk of having a baby with neural tube defects.
These defects can affect babies regardless of: the age of the mother, whether or not you already have healthy children, and even if spina bifida does not run in the family. Some evidence suggests that women with diabetes have increased risk of these defects.
How and When Should It Be Taken?
Folic acid should ideally be taken before conception and at least until the 12th week of pregnancy. However, do not worry if you are more that 12 weeks pregnant and have not taken folic acid. Remember that most babies are born in perfect health.
It is very difficult to get enough folic acid through the diet alone, as many foods lose their folic acid when food is stored for a long time, or through overcooking. The simplest way to ensure you get enough of this vitamin is through supplementation. It is recommended to take 400mcg of folic acid daily. This is available from pharmacies, health food stores and supermarkets.
Research has shown that folic acid has no side effects, even if taken for many years, and it is one of the vitamins that the body gets rid of naturally if more is taken than is needed.
5 Tips to Boost Fertility
Fertility is important to all of us who want to start a family. This article gives a few simple ways to help improve fertility using natural approaches that can be applied immediately.
1. Good nutrition
For optimum fertility, your diet should consist mainly of the following foods, preferably organic where possible:

High-fibre foods: fruit, vegetables, wholegrains
Essential fats: nuts seeds and oily fish
Complex carbohydrates: beans and pulses

You should reduce your intake of the following:

Saturated Fats: these are known to stimulate over-production of a hormone that can compromise fertility. For detailed information on saturated fats refer to the article on Nutrition Basics: What Are fats?
Caffeine: studies have shown that excessive consumption of caffeine can reduce fertility.
Genetically Modified Foods: There are risks associated with altering the DNA of food. Soya is one of the best-known GM foods and is found in more than 60% of processed foods (like bread, biscuits, baby food) under various names. Manufacturers are not always obliged to label foods containing GM ingredients so we need to educate ourselves on how to avoid them.
Simple carbohydrates: These include all refined foods, especially sugar, which has no nutritional value whatsoever. But don't be tempted to replace sugar with artificial sweeteners; these are proven to be carcinogenic- see article Artificial sweetener aspartame Is Carcinogenic.

The food you eat has a big impact on your fertility and on your general health, so it makes sense to be well-informed about what your food really contains.
2. Get Your weight in Check
Fertility can be affected by your weight, whether you are underweight or overweight. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a good indication of how much of our body tissue is fat. This is important because oestrogen (the fertility hormone in women) is produced from fat cells.
A BMI of less than 20 is considered underweight. This can cause problems because the body does not have enough fat stores, and as a protective mechanism in women this can disrupt or stop ovulation and menstruation.
A BMI of over 25 is considered overweight. This can also cause fertility problems by causing hormonal imbalances resulting in irregular menstruation.
An ideal BMI is in the range 20-25.
To calculate your BMI refer to the article Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI) Value.
3. Reduce Environmental Hazards
We are constantly being bombarded with harmful chemicals and toxins all around us, from our food, water, household products, etc, sometimes without being aware of it. These could be having an adverse affect on fertility as some studies have shown.
We are exposed to radiation on a daily basis from microwaves, mobile phones, radar, computers, televisions, etc. Studies have shown that the levels of radiation emitted from these devices can have harmful effects on health and fertility.
Other environmental hazards include xenoestrogens (environmental oestrogens) found in pesticides and plastics, and toxic metals found in our water supply and household products as well as the many other hazardous contaminations we are surrounded by in our everyday life. Hormone balance is important for optimum fertility, and xenoestogens are one of the main causes of hormonal imbalance. It is therefore best to reduce your intake of these harmful chemicals.
4. Take Regular exercise
Moderate exercise on a regular basis will help keep your weight in check and optimize your health by improving heart function, cholesterol levels and reducing blood pressure. Exercise can also help to reduce stress levels and boost endorphins, the feel-good hormones.
5. Keep Cool
This is one for the men. For optimum fertility, sperm need to be kept a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of the body. It is therefore a good idea to wear loose-fitting underwear and avoid excessively hot baths and saunas. Men should also not sit cross-legged or sit for long periods of time.
 
Vitamin D Protects the Health of Mother and Baby During Pregnancy
Maintaining optimal vitamin D levels is one of the most important strategies pregnant women should implement to keep both themselves and their new babies healthy.
Researchers in Britain have concluded pregnant women should be advised to take vitamin D, saying that there is a "strong case" to support the vitamin's benefits.
The paper says there is growing evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to health problems for pregnant women and newborn babies, and it will reduce the risk of diseases such as infantile hypocalcaemia and rickets.
An author of the study, said: "The incidence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women in Britain is unacceptably high, especially during winter and spring. "This is compounded by a lack of exposure to sunlight and the limitations of an average diet to meet the optimal need.
"In the most severe cases, maternal vitamin D deficiency can be life threatening to a newborn. We believe that the routine provision of a daily supplement throughout pregnancy would significantly decrease the number of mothers who are clearly vitamin D deficient, reducing related serious risks to their babies."
The study found that:

Mothers who took 4,000 IU's (ten times the RDA of 400 IU) of vitamin D during pregnancy had their risk of premature birth reduced by half;
Premature babies born to women taking high doses of vitamin D were reduced by half at both 32 and 37 weeks;
There were also fewer babies who were born "small for dates";
Women taking high doses of vitamin D had a 25 percent reduction in infections, particularly respiratory infections such as colds and flu;
The "core morbidities of pregnancy" were reduced by 30 percent in the women who took the high-dose vitamin D (including diabetes, high blood pressure, and pre-eclampsia - a potentially deadly increase in blood pressure and fluid);
Babies getting the highest amounts of vitamin D after birth had fewer colds and less eczema.

As a result, the researchers recommended that all mothers optimize their vitamin D levels during pregnancy, especially in the winter months, to safeguard their babies' health.
Vitamin D Is a Super-Nutrient
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient not only for healthy bones and teeth, but high levels of this nutrient in the body also strengthen the immune system and lead to substantially fewer colds, flu, and other viral infections.
Insufficient levels of vitamin D are linked to virtually every degenerative disease including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, chronic inflammation, as well as depression and autoimmune diseases.
Vitamin D is produced in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight and is also found in some foods like oily fish, liver and eggs.
People with dark-colored skin synthesize less vitamin D on exposure to sunlight than those with light-colored skin, therefore they will need more time in the sun to produce the same amount of vitamin D. The risk of vitamin D deficiency is particularly high in dark-skinned people who live in northern latitudes where there is less sunlight, and on the elderly, because they have reduced capacity to synthesize vitamin D in skin when exposed to sunlight.
Mother's Diet Affects Newborn Allergy Risk
Eating lots of vegetables and fruits during pregnancy is associated with lowering the chance of having a baby with certain allergies, study findings from Japan suggest.
The study found that babies born to women who ate high amounts of green and yellow fruits and vegetables, and those rich in beta carotene, had a reduced risk of being born with eczema, a condition that cause the skin to become itchy, dry, reddened and cracked.
Furthermore, foods high in Vitamin E, found in some green vegetables, were similarly found to lessen the risk of having a wheezy infant.
Study Details
Researchers evaluated vegetable and fruit intake during pregnancy of 763 women and their offspring's early-age eczema or allergic wheeze.
The women were 30 years old on average and about 17 weeks pregnant when they reported personal and medical history. When their babies were between 16 and 24 months old, the women provided birth and breastfeeding history, number of older siblings, and exposure to smoke.
The team found that 21 percent of the youngsters wheezed or had a "whistling in the chest in the last 12 months," and fewer than 19 percent had eczema.
According to the investigators, moms who ate greater amounts of green and yellow vegetables, citrus fruits, or beta carotene while pregnant were less likely to have an infant with eczema.
For example, after allowing for other eczema risk factors, eczema was more common among infants of moms who ate the least versus the most green and yellow vegetables - 54 and 32 infants, respectively.
Likewise, higher intake of Vitamin E during pregnancy was associated a reduced likelihood of having a wheezy infant.
The researchers said that increasing intake of green and yellow vegetables, citrus fruits, and antioxidants such as Beta-carotene and Vitamin E among pregnant women "deserves further investigation as measures that would possibly be effective in the prevention of allergic disorders in the offspring."
This study supports previous and on-going research that eating foods rich in vitamin and minerals, like those found in fruits and vegetables, during pregnancy can go a long way in preventing children from developing allergies.
Breastfeeding is another way to ensure your baby receives the most wholesome nutrition possible. Breast-fed babies are typically born with fewer or no allergies when compared to their formula-fed counterparts. Breast milk contains all the required nutrients crucial for healthy growth and offers protection against infections and diseases, which bottle-feeding does not provide.