FOR women planning to conceive a child, sufficient intake of folate is necessary?at least a year before the actual conception.

This is to avoid serious birth defects in the child?s neural tube?the beginning structures of the brain and spinal chord. Such defects include spina bifida (incomplete closure of the spinal cord and its bony encasement) and anencephaly (the absence or incomplete development of the brain).

Folate deficiency may also lead to a child being born with cleft palate, according to Linda Mabesa, a nutritionist and a professor at the Food Technology Department, University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Mabesa made the warning in a roundtable discussion recently hosted by bread manufacturer Gardenia, which has launched a campaign to educate the public, especially women who wish to mother healthy children, about the importance of folate.

A baby born with a neural tube defect is prone to dying at an early age. Should the child survive, he or she may suffer lifelong physical and intellectual disabilities. A baby with spina bifida, for example, may endure weak legs or bowel control problems, the professor said.

Sufficient folate intake is also essential in preventing spontaneous abortion.

Twin primary functions

In a nutshell, folate has twin primary functions: first, to help avert birth defects; and second, to help cells regenerate.

Part of coenzymes tetrahydrofolate and dihydrofolate found in folate are needed in DNA synthesis, which is important in cell formation and division.

Actively growing cells or cells with very short life spans (like skin cells, intestinal cells and those that line exposed surfaces and cavities) are also dependent on folic acid, another form of folate, for their creation.

Best sources

The best sources of folate, according to the nutritionist, are the green leafy vegetables like kangkong, spinach, asparagus, saluyot, romaine lettuce, broccoli, mustard greens and parsley, as well as in fruits like avocado, oranges, mango and banana.

Folate is also found in whole wheat, yeast, legumes and nuts.

The amount of folate absorbed by the body depends on whether the nutrient came from a natural or fortified product.

If the folate comes from an enriched source, the body absorbs 100 percent of its folate content. If the folate comes from a natural food, however, only half of its folate content is absorbed.

But while folate is found in almost all natural food, the amount is almost always too small or, worse?gone by the time the food is cooked or prepared.

This is one of the reasons a typical Filipino diet suffers from insufficient folate intake, Mabesa said.

To get enough folate in the body, she suggested eating foods that are folate-enriched.

Required folate intake

While a typical Filipino adult is advised to take in at least 400 micrograms of folate a day, a child-bearing woman needs more than half of that amount (600 micrograms). A child, on the other hand, needs only 200-300 micrograms a day.

Some individuals, however, may need higher amount of folate intake. These include smokers, alcoholics, people with chicken pox, burns and blood loss, and individuals taking antibiotics and contraceptives.

According to Simplicio Umali Jr., Gardenia general manager, four slices of its Classic White Bread and five pieces of its Pandesal Regular provides 120 percent and 100 percent, respectively, of a typical adult?s folate needs.

Folate in flour

As a food science expert, Mabesa supported Umali?s call to fortify with folate the flour used in bread-making. Umali said countries like Australia and the United States have mandated this move for several years now.

Mabesa cited several examples of success stories in other countries since they added folate in their flour.

In the United States, babies with neural tube defects went down by 20 percent. In the United Kingdom, on the other hand, 72 percent of mothers who gave birth to babies with NTD decreased the chance of having another child with the same defect, she said.

Umali, who is also president of the Philippine Baking Industry Group, said he will convince other member-companies to fortify their flour with folate, too. He said this is ?very doable? since adding folate has no effect on taste, smell, or shelf life of bread products.