Nearly 60 percent of low-income California women of childbearing age are not consuming enough folate to meet recommended levels for preventing birth defects, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the April-June 2007 issue of the University of California's California Agriculture journal.

Folate is a B vitamin found in foods such as liver, lentils and orange juice. In adults, folate deficiencies are associated with chronic conditions such as anemia, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, and women deficient in folate are more likely to have babies with neural tube defects such as spina bifida or anencephaly. Since 1998, the United States has required the mandatory fortification of enriched grains - including breads and breakfast cereals - with synthetic folic acid (SFA), which is more readily available to the body than dietary folate.

Researchers with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition studied 195 low-income women (18 to 45 years old) participating in California's Food Stamp Nutrition Education program, using a validated dietary folate screener. They found that 59 percent of the study participants were not meeting the Institute of Medicine's recommendation of 400 micrograms SFA per day for women of childbearing age.

"Despite the national fortification program, low-income women in California may be at risk of suboptimal folate status," says Emily Cena, the study's lead author.

Interestingly, the researchers also found that, on average, the Hispanic women studied consumed significantly more SFA and total dietary folate than the black and white women studied. Although the data does not explain the reasons for this finding, Cena says: "The traditional Mexican diet is more likely to include folate-rich foods such as beans, fortified tortillas and fortified rice. We also found that Hispanic women were more likely to take vitamin supplements than white and black women." Nonetheless, 45% of the Hispanic women studied had SFA intakes below the Institute of Medicine's recommendation.

For the entire current issue of California Agriculture, including this folate study, go to http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu.

California Agriculture is the University of California's peer-reviewed journal of research in agricultural, human and natural resources. For a free subscription, go to: http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu, write to calag@ucop.edu or call (510) 987-0044. For a printed copy of California Agriculture, media should e-mail janet.byron@ucop.edu or call (510) 987-0668.
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