A study conducted by researchers from the University of Adelaide showed that folic acid intake at the latter part of pregnancy is linked with asthma in young children.

Five hundred pregnant women who took supplemental folic acid at the latter part of their pregnancy were included in the study. Their children were checked for asthma at 3.5 and 5.5 years old. The result showed 11.6 percent of children had asthma at age 3.5 while 11.8 percent were found to have asthma at 5.5 years old.

No evidence was found to show that intake of folic acid during the early part of pregnancy can cause any adverse effects.

The intake of dietary folic acid from green, leafy vegetables and some fruits was not linked with asthma in young children.

So pregnant women are advised to only have an intake of supplementary folic acid at the first trimester of their pregnancy. The recommended dose is 400mg daily. Doing this can reduce risk of neural tube birth defects.

Source: Yahoo! News

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