To help Americans understand the National Academy of
Sciences/Institute of Medicine’s newly-released recommendations,known as dietary reference intakes (DRIs), on the nutrients folate, other B-vitamins, and choline, The American Dietetic Association (ADA) offers practical advice on which foods are rich in these nutrients and how they can easily be part of a healthful eating plan. Additionally, ADA urges consumers and news media to realize that NAS’ recommendations are not public policy guidelines. Actual application of these recommendations is yet to be determined.
“As dietitians, we often say “people eat foods, not nutrients,” said Tracy Fox, R.D. (registered dietitian), senior federal regulatory manager with ADA’s government affairs office in Washington, D.C. “While many Americans have trouble sorting through the ‘alphabet soup’ of nutrients like folate, B6, or B12, they are interested in the health benefits these and other nutrients can provide. That’s why it’s important we talk about these new recommendations in terms of foods.”
ADA strongly advises people get these and other nutrients through foods first. For certain individuals, including pregnant women and women of child bearing age, the elderly, strict vegans, or others unable to eat a variety of foods, supplementation may be warranted.
“For most Americans, choosing foods as outlined by the Food Guide Pyramid will help work these nutrients into a healthful eating style.
It is easier than many people thin,” said Fox. “Remember, a supplement is just that–a supplement.”
ADA points out that scientists continue to identify specific components of food that may expand its role in prevention and treatment of disease.
For people who think they may not be getting all the nutrients they need through foods, ADA suggests they ask their physician for a referral to a registered dietitian.
The following information, based on ADA’s Complete Food & Nutrition Guide (Chronimed Publishing), provides a practical overview of folate, other B-vitamins, and choline, which were highlighted in NAS’ latest recommendations:
Folate (also called folic acid or folacin)
——
What it does:
* Folate plays an essential role in making new body cells by helping to produce DNA and RNA, the cell’s master plan for cell reproduction
* Works with vitamin B12 to form hemoglobin in red blood cells * Eating plants rich in folate may help protect against heart disease
* Can help women lessen risk of delivering a baby with neural tube defects, like spina bifida
If you don’t get enough:
* A deficiency affects normal cell division and protein synthesis, especially impairing growth
* Anemia, caused by malformed blood cells that can’t carry as much oxygen, may be the result of folate deficiency
* Pregnant women who don’t get enough folate, especially during the first trimester, have a greater risk of delivering a baby with neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Dietitians recommend all women of child-bearing age consume adequate amounts of folate in their eating plans.
Which foods are folate-rich?
Leafy vegetables, some fruits, legumes, liver, yeast breads and wheat germ, and some fortified products like cereals, juices, rice, or pastas, are good
sources. Most enriched grain products–bread, flour, corn grits, cornmeal,
farina, rice, macaroni and noodles–must be fortified with folate according
to law. A few examples include:
Food Folate (mcg)
spinach (1/2 cup) 130
navy beans, boiled (1/2 cup) 125
wheat germ (1/4 cup) 80
avocado (1/2) 55
orange (1 medium) 45
slice of bread (fortified) 40
peanuts (dried, one ounce) 30
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