American Premium Blends® March of Dimes!

Hello Dear Friends,

Spring is right around the corner, which brings one of America's better known charitable traditions. The March of Dimes holds its annual Walk for Babies. For over 65 years, the March of Dimes has saved millions of babies and children from death and disabilities through our life-saving research, innovative programs, and dedicated volunteers. The March of Dimes was founded in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to defeat polio, a dreaded disease that claimed the lives and limbs of America's children in record numbers. Within 17 years, the Salk vaccine was developed and polio was defeated.

The March of Dimes then turned its attention to an even greater challenge—fighting birth defects and other infant health problems. With a track record of success in bringing people together to solve complex health challenges, the March of Dimes is uniquely qualified to take on the problem of prematurity.

To find out about the walk nearest to you please contact the March of Dimes Michigan Chapter office at:

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American Premium Blends®
Natural Health Tip of the Month*
Take Folic Acid Before You're Pregnant
from The March of Dimes

What Is Folic Acid and Why Does Your Baby Need it?
Folic acid is a naturally occurring B vitamin that helps a baby's neural tube—the part of a developing baby that becomes the brain and spinal cord—develop properly. It must be taken before and during early pregnancy when the neural tube is developing.

The best way to get enough folic acid is to take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid in it and eat a healthy diet. Most multivitamins have this amount, but check the label to be sure. You also can get folic acid in your diet, but it's hard to get enough every day through food alone. That's why the March of Dimes encourages all women of childbearing age to take a multivitamin containing folic acid every day as part of a healthy diet.

Folic acid works, but it only works if taken before and during the first few weeks of pregnancy, when the neural tube is developing into the brain and spinal cord. When the neural tube does not close properly, a baby is born with a very serious birth defect called a neural tube defect (NTD). About 3,000 pregnancies are affected by NTDs each year in the United States. If all women took adequate folic acid before conception and during pregnancy, 50 to 70 percent of NTDs could be prevented.

Folic acid has no known toxic level. If you ate a bowl of fully fortified cereal (400 micrograms), took a folic acid supplement (400 micrograms), and ate fortified foods and foods rich in folate, you would not get too much folic acid. Still, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women consume no more than 1,000 micrograms of synthetic folic acid a day.

Folic Acid in Foods

• Fortified breakfast cereals
• Lentils
• Asparagus
• Spinach
• Black beans
• Peanuts
• Orange juice (from concentrate is best)
• Enriched breads and pasta
• Romaine lettuce
• Broccoli