Many mothers-to-be go to the hospital for checkups, almost all doctors will recommend supplementation of folic acid, vitamin E, etc., saying that it is critical for pregnancy and fetal development, and can even affect the baby’s intelligence, so what is the magic pill of folic acid? Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin composed of chatteridine, p-aminobenzoic acid and glutamic acid residues, also known as vitamin BC or vitamin M. As it was originally extracted and purified from spinach leaves, Gu named it folic acid. It is essential for cell growth and reproduction in the body. It is involved in the metabolism of proteins in the body and promotes the production and maturation of red blood cells together with vitamin B12. It is an indispensable substance for the production of red blood cells. More importantly, it is involved in the synthesis of nucleic acids (ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid) and is an important raw material for DNA, the genetic material of the human body. The important nutritional role of folic acid in the human body was confirmed as early as 1948, when folic acid deficiency in humans (or other animals) could cause megaloblastic anemia and leukopenia. Studies have also found that folic acid is particularly important for pregnant women. Deficiency of folic acid during the first trimester of pregnancy can lead to defects in fetal neural tube development, thereby increasing the incidence of lissencephaly and anencephaly. Secondly, regular folic acid supplementation in pregnant women can prevent low birth weight, premature birth and congenital malformations such as cleft palate (harelip) in infants. This fully illustrates the importance of folic acid intake during pregnancy: 1) to promote normal fetal growth, because folic acid is an important factor in the metabolism of purine pyrimidine, which is necessary for rapid growth of cells and tissues; 2) to prevent megaloblastic anemia in pregnancy, which can seriously cause miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, gestational poisoning, postpartum hemorrhage and other symptoms. Scientific research has found that the development of brain is the earliest and most rapid in the whole fetal formation process, and early pregnancy (3-6 weeks), especially in the first 4 weeks of pregnancy, is a critical period for the growth and development of the fetal central nervous system, which is most vulnerable to teratogenic factors. serious dysfunction and even cause miscarriage and stillbirth. If adequate folic acid is supplemented at this critical time, the risk of fetal neural tube can be reduced by 50% to 70%. However, many women are often unaware that they are pregnant at this stage, much less that they are deficient in folic acid, and may miss the critical period for folic acid supplementation. For this reason, the Centers for Disease Control recommends that women of childbearing age should take a daily folic acid supplement of 0.4 mg for all women and 0.8 mg for pregnant women. Women who have had multiple births or have chronic hemolytic anemia need an additional 0.2-0.4 mg of folic acid daily, and the specific supplementation regimen should be determined by a physician. With folic acid being so important, how does a mother-to-be take the proper supplementation? The standard method of folic acid supplementation is to take a specially formulated folic acid supplement (over-the-counter, available at major pharmacies, I won’t mention the trade name to avoid suspicion of advertising) containing 400 micrograms of folic acid per tablet from the first trimester to the first trimester of pregnancy. Oral folic acid tablets are almost completely absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract (mainly in the upper duodenum) and can appear in the blood after 5-20 minutes, reaching the highest blood concentration after 1 hour. After absorption in the intestine, folic acid enters the liver via the portal vein, where most of it is stored mainly in the liver, where it is transformed into active tetrahydrofolate by enzymatic action to function in the body. The human body is a natural balance system, and maintaining this balance system can ensure the health and development of pregnant women and fetuses. Therefore, mothers-to-be should pay special attention to the following points when taking folic acid supplements: 1. 400 micrograms of folic acid is a safe daily dose under normal dietary conditions, and there are various dose specifications of folic acid supplements sold in pharmacies, so pay attention to choosing 400ug/tablet (0.4mg/tablet) for mothers-to-be; 2. milk powder, should try to avoid duplication of folic acid supplementation. 3. If you do not conceive as expected after taking folic acid for three months, you can continue to take folic acid supplements until the third trimester of pregnancy. Of course, we Chinese are also fond of food therapy, and we like to ask what we can eat and what we can’t eat, what we should eat more and what we should eat less when we go to the doctor. Green vegetables are rich in folic acid, but they break down when exposed to heat and most of it is lost, and there is a risk of pathogenic bacteria or parasites in raw vegetables. The good thing is that many fruits are rich in folic acid: cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, prunes, dates, hawthorn, pomegranates, grapes, oranges, kiwis, strawberries, etc. Eating more of these fruits can not only replenish enough folic acid, but also improve appetite.