Vitamin B9 or Folic Acid

The operative word here is fresh, because folic acid is easily lost from vegetables through cooking and exposure to light.  A great deal of folic acid is lost the first day the vegetables are picked, put on a truck, and taken to market.  Fresh vegetables you pick and eat immediately are the richest source for this fragile B9 vitamin.  Folic acid's importance and our low intake of it are both so well recognized that folic acid fortification of grain products is now being proposed in western countries. Nutritionist Ishi  Khosla  says the secret mantra for  a happy and a healthy pregnancy is  eating fresh  fruits and vegetables rich in folate. Folic acid is the single most important nutrient for a pregnant woman and her developing foetus.  Folic acid also improves lactation.

Folic acid, in combination with Vitamin B12 is essential for the formation, maturation and multiplication of red blood cells.  It is necessary for the growth and division of all body cells, including nerve cells, and for manufacturing a number of nerve transmitters.  It also produces nucleic acids, RNA (ribonucleic acid) and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that carry hereditary patterns. It aids in protein metabolism and contributes to normal growth.  Folic acid helps in the building of antibodies which prevent and heal infections.  Nutritionist Ishi  Khosla recommends all expecting mothers a diet rich in Pulses and legumes such as Bengal gram and green gram with lot of green vegetables such as amaranth, cluster beans, spinach,  asparagus and  mint Besides greens leaves, folic acid is also  found in gingelly seeds , meats  and citrus fruits. Ishi says a deficiency of folic acid  often causes anaemia, in pregnant women and children.  Serious skin disorders, loss of hair, impaired circulation, a grayish brown skin pigmentation, premature graying of hair, fatigue, and mental depression can also result from a deficiency of this vitamin. Ishi gives a word of caution to all expecting mothers that a deficiency may result in spontaneous abortions, difficult labor, and a high infant death rate. A deficiency may also lead to loss of libido in males.  Lack of folic acid can also lead to dementia. Ishi states that almost all the anticonvulsant drugs used in the treatment of epilepsy reduce serum folate concentrations.Other drugs such as oral contraceptives, pyrimethamine (an antimalarial), co-trimoxazole (contains a sulphur compound) and ethanol (alcohol) may also impair folate metabolism.

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