Dr. Gena Chiropractic - Your Favorite Family Chiropractors - Plantation, Florida

Folate, also known as vitamin B12, is important for many processes in the body such as DNA synthesis, cell growth, and nervous system development. If a mother has a folate deficiency then this can cause neural tube defects such as Spina Bifida and Anencephaly. Neural tube defects occur when there is an issue with the development of the brain and spinal cord. These defects can be fatal or cause life long disabilities for the child. 

Think of neural tube defects like an unclosed zipper. When the brain and spinal cord form they should zip all the way up and close like a fully zipped jacket. A neural tube defect is like the zipper not closing all the way and leaving a gap. A gap in the formation of the brain and spinal cord can cause significant problems and can even be fatal.

In order to avoid these defects most mothers are told to supplement with folic acid. This is the synthetic/man-made version of folate. It must be converted to the active form, methyl folate, by the body so that it can be used. This conversion relies on the MTHFR gene, which 30-40% of the population have a defect in this gene. This means that almost half of women can not properly create the active form of folate; methyl folate. 

This is why supplementation is important, but it is even more important to choose to supplement with methylated folate that it is already active and ready to be used by the body. This eliminates the grey area for potential deficiency in women who have a mutation in the MTHFR gene.