Folate is crucial for health
When it comes to buying bread, consumers should not only be concerned about the absence of harmful substances such as bromate and transzero fat, they must also look out for highly desirable nutrients such as folate.
The United States Food and Drugs Administration has for some time upheld the strict folate fortification requisite of all flour supply. After its 10th year of implementing such a requirement, authorities discovered a significant degree of reduction in the incidence of neural tube defect among the babies of mothers predisposed to having babies with such condition.
Bakers Association of the Philippines and Gardenia Bakeries, Phils. Inc. president Simplicio Umali says that the flour bread makers in the Philippines have folate and a few other nutrients the local Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) requires but that these are in such unsubstantial amounts that bakers need to enrich their products with such nutrients, especially folate. According to Umali, all Gardenia bread products, since the day Gardenia products hit the market, have always been good sources of folate, as can be noted in Gardenia products’ nutrition label.
Dr. Linda Mabesa of the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture Food Cluster explains, “As part of the coenzymes tetrahydrofolate (THF) and dihydrofolate (DHF), folate is needed in DNA synthesis (cell nucleus material) important in cell formation and division (maintains and produces new cells). Deficiency in folic acid would cause DNA to slow down. It may also cause macrocytic anemia (large immature red blood cells) wherein while cells continue to grow, they lose their ability to divide.”
Good sources of folate include romaine lettuce, spinach, asparagus, turnip greens, mustard greens, calf’s liver, parsley, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, lentils, squash, black beans, pinto beans, string beans, garbanzo beans, banana, orange, avocado, melon, and papaya. Other folate sources are root vegetables, lean beef, kidney, dairy products, and yeast. Folate is found in almost all food, but in small amounts and readily available forms. Adults need an average daily intake of 400 micrograms of folate to help maintain normal homocysteine levels as well as prevent neural tube defects in newborns.
