Folate through Lifecycle Nutrition - Research Paper Example

Folate through the Life Cycle Introduction The life cycle of humans is required to go hand in hand withthe right activities and nutrients for proper growth and development. One important nutrient for a healthy population that is required since birth is Folate. Folate has been established to be critical in prevention of cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancers and cognitive disorders1. Various biological mechanisms in the human body also require foliate. DNA synthesis, amino acids metabolism and Methylation of genes are some of the processes that require Folate.2 However just like any other nutrients; Folate is required to be taken in considerable amounts. The required Folate intake amount depends on the condition.3 Folate can be derived mostly in vegetables4. However, there are alternative ways through which humans can get Folate nutrients. Through fortification, consumers can derive Folate from foods that do not naturally contain Folate.5 Whereas Folate has been identified to prevent neural tubal disorders among pregnant mothers, mostly the correct administration also matters.6 Folate becomes effective when taken during the initial weeks of conception.7 Folate is believed to have various effects on human health, hence there is the need to study the facts surrounding it. Discussion To ascertain the effects of Folate in the life cycle of humans, various studies have been conducted. Greenberg et al established that Folate is essential in both nutrition and reproduction. During pregnancy, Folate is required in abundance since it is an essential element in fetal growth.8 Since it cannot be synthesized anew from the body, it is recommended for mothers to take foods rich in foliate during pregnancy. This reduces chances of the offspring and parent to suffer from foliate deficiency related diseases, in this case anemia or neural tubal defects.8 A study conducted by Blencowe et al showed that mothers who had previous cases of pregnancies with neural tubal disorders reduced their chances of the condition recurring by 75% if they took Folate supplements9. For mothers who never had previous cases of Neural tubal disorders the rate of reduction of potential neural tubal disorders reduced by 62%9. In addition to these results, the study identified that despite neural tubal disorders being the most prevalent cases of Folate deficiency during pregnancy there are other risks. Neural tubal disorders in this case affect the infants’ functionality of the brain and spinal cords. Another common case of foliate deficiency diseases for infants that was observed is preeclampsia9. It is estimated that one- third of maternal deaths in developed countries are as a result of preeclampsia10. Preeclampsia has no other established cure except delivery. Hence in order to cure mothers from this condition doctors may be prompted to induce premature delivery.10 In this case the future health conditions of both the mother and the child may be affected. Premature delivery caused by preeclampsia, leads to birth of underweight infants. An estimated 60% of these infants were observed to develop learning disorders. In extreme cases, the deficiency of Foliate may lead to infant mortality. Foliate intake it is therefore important for fetal development since it may determine the future condition of an infant. Folate is known to play a key role in the genetic expressions and cell transformation. After 14 to 60 days of conception, the face tissues of an infant are formed. During this stage the face formation of an infant may be affected by either genetic or environmental factors. A common congenital condition that may arise at this stage is the oral cleft lip11. Cleft lip is mainly caused by genetic factors that mainly arise due to deficiency in some nutrients. Several observational studies have identified of folic acids multivitamins in preventing oral cleft lip11. While some of these studies showed variations in the role of Folate in cleft lip palate and cleft palate prevention, Folate had an effect on overall palate defects prevention. Various results were obtained due to variations in the amounts of doses of Folate induced. A study targeting a French population sample was conducted to establish the causes of cleft lip in infants. The results of the study identified a low Folate levels in infants suffering from cleft lip conditions11. This was due to the fact that during conception, Folate deficiency led to an incomplete process of face tissue formation. Adults also require intake of essential nutrients, for their normal body functions and a healthy aging process. The rate of deaths for adults aged 65 years and older in the U.S.A attributes that five out of eight causes of deaths are related are to nutrition.12According to Bernstein et al medical nutrition therapy reduces chances of chronic disease, inhibits disease progression and minimizes symptoms of diseases.12 Prior genetic research findings, have established the availability of genes in people aged 100 years and above that prevent them from contracting age related diseases.12 Foliate can be used to in the nutritional therapy of people aging in the society. In this case foliate can be introduced to aging adults diets since it is a requirement during synthesis of purines and thymidylate.13 Purines and thymidylate are essential in the synthesis of DNA, which plays an important role in genes formation. Hence it becomes easier for older people formation of the genes that enable old people to fight age related diseases. Folate has also been identified to fight various chronic diseases, with the most common cases being prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Folate has been established to fight cancer through nucleotide synthesis and methylation reactions. Nucleotide synthesis is an important factor in the stability of genome. This process is critical in the stability of DNA which in this case ensures that tumor suppressors can stably fight tumor development14. Apart from Folate having a role in prevention of cancer and its effect on tumors, studies show that Folate may also prevent cardiovascular diseases. Folate and most B-vitamins are presumed to reduce risks of cardiovascular diseases. Folate regulates the level of Homocysteine and prevents its level from rising which could result to cardiovascular diseases14. Conclusion Folate is an importance of Folate nutrients in the life cycle of human beings since it is required since conception. Lack of Folate for pregnant mothers has been established to lead to giving birth to infants with neural tubal disorders among other disorders. Moreover, Folate is required in cell transformation and genetic expression hence it is an important nutrient during genes formation. The ability of Folate to take part in prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases makes it an important nutrient even in old age. References 1. Hatzis CM, Bertais GK, Linardakis M, Scott JM Kafatos AG. Dietary and other lifestyle correlates of serum Folate concentrations in a healthy adult population in Crete, Greece: A cross-sectional study. Nutrition Journal. 2006; 5(5):1-10. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-5-5. 2. Taparia S, Gelineau-van Waes J, Rosenquist TH, Finell Richard H. Importance of Folate-homocysteine during early embryonic development. Clin chem. lab 2007; 45(12):1717-1727. 3. Krishnaswamy K, Nair K M. Importance of Folate in human nutrition. National institute of nutrition. Rev. Marrow. 2012;140(11). 4. Brito A, Hertrampf E , Olivares M, et al. Folate, vitamin B12 and human health. Rev .Marrow.2012; 140(11). 5. Koehler KM, Pareo-Tubbeh S, Romero LJ, Baumgartner RN, Garry PJ. Folate nutrition and older adults: Challenges and opportunities. American Dietetic Association. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 1997; 97(2):167-73. 6. Harvard school of public health. Three of B vitamins: Folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. Web site http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-b/ Accessed April 27, 2014. 7. Pitkin R M. Folate and neural tube defects. American society for clinical nutrition .2007;85(1): 285S-288S. 8. Greenberg J A, Bell S J, Guan Y, Yu Yan-hong. Folic acid supplementation and pregnancy: More than just neutral tube defect prevention. Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2011; 4(2): 52–59. 9. Blencowe H, Cousens S, Modell B, Lawn J. Folic acid to reduce neonatal mortality from neural tube disorders. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2010;39(1):10-21. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyq028. 10. Wen S H, Champagne J, White R et al. Effect of Folic acid supplementation in pregnancy on preeclampsia: The folic acid clinical trial study. Journal of Pregnancy. 2012;2(3):198-207: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.preghy.2012.04.041 11. Wehby G, Murray JC. Folic acid and oral facial clefts: A review of the evidence. Oral Dis. 2010;16(1):11-19 12. Ulak M, Chandyo R K, Adhikari R K et al. Cobalamin and Folate status in 6 to 35 months old children presenting with acute diarrhea in Bhaktur, Nepal. PLoS ONE. 2013, 9(3): e90079. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090079 13. Smith A D, Kim Y, Refsum H.Is folic acid good for everyone. American society of clinical nutrition. 2008; 87(3) 517-533. 14. Guelpen V B. Folate in colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease. Scand f clin lab invests. 2007; 67:459-473. Read More