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Nutrient Requirements and Optimal Nutrition

One-Third of Pregnant and Lactating Women May Not Be Meeting Their Folate Requirements from Diet Alone Based on Mandated Levels of Folic Acid Fortification¹

² Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, and ³ The Research Institute, The Hospital For Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: deborah_l.o'connor{at}sickkids.ca.

Many women are advised to consume a folic acid–containing prenatal supplement for the duration of pregnancy and lactation. Whether this remains necessary after folic acid fortification of the food supply in North America has yet to be determined. Our objective was to assess the dietary folate intake of a sample of pregnant and lactating women at mandated and predicted folic acid–fortification levels and determine the prevalence of inadequate and excessive intakes. Weighed food records (for 3 d) were collected from predominantly university-educated women (32 ± 4 y of age) at 36 wk of pregnancy (n = 61) and at 4 and 16 wk of lactation (n = 60). Dietary folate intakes during pregnancy and lactation, assuming fortification at mandated levels (140–150 µg/100g), were 562 ± 106 and 498 ± 99 µg/d dietary folate equivalents (DFE), respectively. The prevalence of inadequacy for folate, or the proportion of individuals with usual folate intakes less than their nutrient requirement, was 36% for women during pregnancy (estimated average requirement of 520 µg/d DFE), and 32% during lactation (estimated average requirement of 450 µg/d DFE). Assuming fortification at twice the mandated level, mean dietary intakes during pregnancy and lactation were 786 ± 132 and 716 ± 150 µg/d DFE, respectively, producing only a 3% prevalence of folate inadequacy. Grains contributed 41% of total folate intake followed by fruits and vegetables (21%). To conclude, at mandated levels of fortification many pregnant and lactating women are unlikely to meet their folate requirements from dietary sources alone; however, the actual level of inadequacy cannot be determined until the level of folic acid in the food supply is known with greater precision.