BIS-Uncaster Fanning, Saturday, July 8, 2000
Family Living
Focus
Barb Miller
Elk-Cameron
Extension
Are You Folate Smart?
Have you ever heard of folate?
Do you know what it can do for
you? Do you know how to get it
into your diet? Read on to find
out!
What is folate or folacin?
Folacin’s a member of the B
complex family of vitamins. It’s
water-soluble, sensitive to light,
heat and air. Folacin/folate come
from the same root word as “foli
age:” it’s found in dark green
leafy vegetables. Folate is the
natural form in foods; folic acid
is the synthetic form in vitamin
supplements and fortified foods
such as cereals and enriched
grains.
Why is folate needed?
The body needs folic acid to
make DNA and RNA, the genet
ic blueprint for the structure and
function of every cell in the body.
It’s needed for rapid cell growth
and healthy cell division, impor
tant for developing healthy ba
bies and cancer prevention. Fola
cin also helps eliminate
homocysteines in the blood that
lead to heart attacks. By forming
hemoglobin in red blood cells, it
Grossman Continues Reign
COCHRANVILLE (Chester
Co.) Amanda Grossman for
mally ended her yearlong reign
as 1999 Chester County Dairy
Princess Saturday, June 3 here at
the Cochranville .Community
Center.
Amanda’s duties included vis
iting school children of all ages,
interviewing on live radio, writ
ing newspaper articles, speaking
to farmers, and encouraging and
teaching consumers to use Real
dairy products.
In her farewell speech, Aman
da highlighted her year and
thanked her family and commit
tee members. She explained that
since no other dairy princess can
didate came forward to serve,
she will continue to be available
to appear in crown and banner
throughout the coming year.
The 2000 Dairy Princess Court
consists of six dairy ambassadors
and five dairy maids. Each of
these young ladies will be trained
at a one day mini-seminar to
learn dairy nutrition and inform
ation, public speaking, and ap
propriate attire and conduct for
dairy promoters. Dairy ambassa
dors are between ages 15-18.
Meredith Baily is the daughter
of Barnard and Jane Baily of
West Chester. She attends
Unionville High School and is in
What Is Pond Slime
The green slime you see on
ponds is really an aquatic or
water plant called filamentous
algae. Algae is a weed that is
very common in Ohio. It usually
starts growing in late spring or
summer when the temperatures
are warm.
This water weed is also called
moss or pond scum. The algae
prevents anemia.
Who needs folacin? Why?
• Pregnant women: To help
prevent birth defects of the brain
and spinal column called “neural
tube birth defects.” NTD’s occur
in about one per thousand preg
nancies in the U.S. each year.
Anyone who becomes pregnant is
at risk for NTD. About 95 per
cent of NTD pregnancies occur
in women with no past history of
NTD’s. Folate is critical before
and during the first few weeks of
pregnancy before many
women are even aware they are
pregnant. That’s why it’s recom
mended that all women of child
bearing age consume 400 meg of
folate each day. Studies show
this may help reduce the risk of
certain birth defects by 50-70
percent. Women who have had
one NTD child are at higher risk
for having a second affect child,
so should increase their folic acid
intake starting one month before
conception.
• Seniors: To protect against
heart disease. Folate helps break
down homocysteine, an amino
acid that is emerging as a new
volved in Chester Valley Dairy
4-H club.
Betsy Young is the daughter of
Charles and Debra Young of
West Grove. She attends Avon
Grove High School and is a
member of Manor Dairy 4-H
Club.
Laura King is the daughter of
Marvin and Carolyn King of
Cochranville. She attends Octo
rara Area High School and is in
volved in her church youth
group.
Erica Lloyd is the daughter of
Ron and Cindy Lloyd of Potts
town. She attends the Center for
Arts & Technology and is a
member of the Tri-Community
Dairy 4-H Club.
Rebecca Nolan is the daughter
of Rob and Sharon Nolan of
Cochranville. She attends Octo
rara Area High School and is a
member of the Manor Dairy 4-H
Club.
Dairy maids also have oppor
tunity to promote to consumers
and are from age 12-15. Tiffany
Kissell is the daughter of Steve
and Kim Harrop of Chester
Springs. She attends Lionville
Middle School and is a member
of the Chester Springs Dairy
4-H Club.
Christy Guest is the daughter
of Stan and Cathy Guest of
forms thick mats of hair-like
strands that begin growing on
submerged objects at the bottom
of the pond-things like rocks,
tree limbs, or garbage.
As it grows, the algae gives off
oxygen. The air bubbles are
trapped in the thick mat of algae
and this causes it to rise to the
top of the water. Algae can cover
risk factor for heart attacks and
strokes. Because it damages arte
ries, it can restrict blood flow to
the heart and brain. High homo
cysteine levels in the blood plus
insufficient folate levels in the
diet can triple the risk of heart
attack. Four B vitamins folate,
riboflavin, B 6 and 812 are
needed to help prevent a homo
cysteine buildup in the blood. It
is estimated that at least 13,400
deaths annually from coronary
artery disease could be prevented
if Americans consumed more fo
late. About 40 percent of Ameri
cans do not consume enough fo
late to keep blood homocysteine
levels low. Men with high blood
homocysteine levels are three
times more likely to have a heart
attack than men with lower lev
els. High homocysteine levels
may increase the risk for coro
nary artery disease by 67 percent
in men and by 80 percent in
women.
• Women: To curtail cancer
risk. Folate may help reduce the
risk of several types of cancer be
cause it plays an important role
in healthy cell division and is
crucial in the repair of damaged
cells. Folate can help prevent
damage to lung tissue caused by
smoking and protect cervical tis
sue from forming abnormal cells
that can lead to cancer. People
with higher folate levels are also
less likely to develop colon can
cer. Folacin can help prevent the
formation of colon polyps, the
forerunners of colon cancer. If
they are caught early and re
moved, colon cancer does not de
velop.
What Foods Are Rich In
Folate?
Pottstown. She attends Owen J;
Robert’s Area Middle School and
is a member of the Tri-Commu
nity Dairy 4-H Club.
Pepper Kissell is the daughter
of Steve and Kim Harrop of
Chester Springs. She attends Li
onville Middle School and is a
member of the Chester Springs
Dairy 4-H Club.
Trisha Harrop is the daughter
of Bruce and Betsy Harrop of
Chester Springs. She attends Li
onviile Middle School and is a
member of the Chester Valley
Dairy 4-H Club.
Becky Baily is the daughter of
Barnard and Jane Baily of West
Chester. She attends the Union
ville Area Middle School and is a
member of the Chester Valley
Dairy 4-H Club.
These young ladies will be
working with the Chester Coun
ty Milk Promotion Committee in
cooperation with the Pennsylva
nia Dairy Princess and Promo
tion Services, Inc. and American
Dairy Association/Dairy Council
Middle Atlantic, promoting dairy
products and the dairy industry
throughout the county for the
next year. Anyone interested in
having one of these young ladies
to speak to your group or organi
zation, contact Sharon Nolan at
(610) 593-7465.
a pond and make the quality of
the water harmful for the plants
and animals that live in the
pond. Because algae grows so
rapidly, it can cover the surface
and block out sunlight and air.
Algae is also harmful for hu
mans because it changes the
quality of the water. And who
would want to swim in a pond
covered with green slime?
Our bodies do not produce fo
late; we need to get it from the
foods we eat. While you can ob
tain folic acid from a vitamin
supplement, folate-rich foods like
beans, also provide other impor
tant nutrients such as fiber, to
help round out a healthy diet.
• Excellent Folate Sources:
Fortified cereals, lentils, black
eyed peas.
• Good Folate Sources: Pinto
beans, chick peas, baby lima
beans, spinach, more breakfast
cereals, wheat germ, asparagus,
orange juice.
• Fair Sources: Split peas,
orange, broccoli, eggs, bananas,
strawberries, Brussel sprouts,
peas, beets.
Fortified grain foods: Enriched
breakfast cereals, bread, flour,
pasta, rice, commeal. As of Janu
ary 1998, enrichment is not re
quired, but if enriched, the law
stipulates how much must be
added... 140 meg of folic acid is
added to every 100 grams of
grain. This dose assures an in
crease of 100 micrograms in the
diet. Most grain products in gro
cery stores are enriched, but lo
cally baked goods and imported
products might not be. Check the
food label to be sure. Fortifica
tion increase average folate in
take by about 100 micrograms
per day. People still need to eat
the right foods or take supple
ments.
How Much Folate Is Needed
Per Day?
• All adults 400 micrograms
per day. This would reduce
NTD’s by 50-70 percent.
(Women with epilepsy, diabetes
or a family history of NTD’s
need more.)
Representing Chester County dairy royalty are Trisha
Harrop, center, and from left, Becky Nolan, Amanda
Grossman, and Betsy Young.
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• Pregnant women 600 meg
folate per day, 400 from folic
acid supplements, the rest from
food.
Why Are Folic Acid Supple
ments Important?
It’s hard to get enough folate
from food alone. A multivitamin
is not a substitute for a poor diet,
it complements a healthy diet.
Most American women consume
only half of what’s needed per
day. Plus, the body’s ability to
absorb dietary folic acid varies
considerably from person to per
son. As many as one in seven
people carry a gene that causes a
deficiency in folate even if eating
a diet with the recommended
amount of folate. These people
have trouble breaking down fo
late in food to a form of folic acid
the body can use. Also, poor eat
ing habits, stringent dieting, alco
hol abuse, cigarette smoking, oral
contraceptive use interfere with
the absorption of folic acid. The
folic acid found in supplements
and fortified foods is more easily
absorbed. Plus overcooking can
destroy much of the folic acid in
foods. Take a daily multivitamin
to insure folic acid needs will be
met. Most daily multivitamins
and supplements contain 400 mi
crograms of folic acid. To re
member to take it, take your
supplement when brushing your
teeth.
What happens if you get too
much folate?
High levels can mask signs of
pernicious anemia caused by in
ability to absorb Vitamin 812.
Thus folic acid fortification is de
signed to keep daily intake below
one milligram or 1,000 micro
grams to avoid masking perni
cious anemia.
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