We’ll do pretty much anything in order to protect the health of our unborn and newborn babies, which is why the latest scientific finding by experts in Canada has piqued interest all over the world.

 

New research suggests that fortifying food with folic acid can significantly decrease cases of heart defects among babies.

 

The study findings, published in the health journal Circulation, show that there was an 11 percent drop in the number of cases of congenital heart problems after the introduction of a fortification programme in Canada, in 1998.

 

 

While the number of heart defects in newborns plummeted by 27 percent, cases of holes in hearts fell by 15 percent.

 

The findings were made by a team of researchers at Vancouver’s University of British Colombia, who analysed data from almost six million births between 1990 and 2011.

 

 

Mums-to-be are already strongly advised to take folic acid supplements, in order to protect their babies from brain and spinal defects.

 

While previous research has linked folic acid intake with protection against spina bifida, this is the first research suggesting that the B vitamin can positively impact heart defects.

 

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