The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly advise all women, especially those between 18 and 24 years of age, to make sure they get their necessary intake of folic acid.

A CDC news release on Thursday, Jan. 10, urged all women, especially younger women ages 18-24, to keep in mind the importance of consuming 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, “through supplements, fortified foods, or both in addition to a folate-rich diet to prevent serious birth defects.”

The recommendation goes for any woman of childbearing age even if she is not trying to conceive, because many pregnancies are unplanned.

Researchers have found that low folate levels during pregnancy are associated with the occurrence of neural tube defects, which include abnormalities of the brain and spine.

The CDC warned that among American women aged 18-45, only 40 percent take a daily supplement containing folic acid. Among younger women aged 18-24, only 30 percent take the folic acid supplements. This age group accounts for nearly a third of all U. S. births, the agency said.

Among all age groups, young women were the least aware about the benefits and necessity of folic acid consumption.

The findings were based on two studies which appear in this week's issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

One of the studies was a survey of approximately 2,000 U.S. women aged 18-45, conducted by the Gallup Organization for the March of Dimes between 2003 and 2007. The other examined folic acid knowledge and consumption among women of childbearing age in Puerto Rico and was carried out between 1996 and 2006.

Folic acid, a B vitamin, is found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach and turnip greens, and in fortified breads, breakfast cereal, flours and other grain products.

Since 1996, when the U. S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that folic acid be added to grain-based foods, the rate of neural tube defects has dropped by 25 percent in the U. S.

Experts say that while there has been an increase in folic acid consumption, it is still not sufficient. Folic acid is essential during pregnancy in that it helps prevent the occurrence of some congenital malformations.