Folic Acid Can Be Found in Fortified Foods.
In the 1990s, the U.S. became the first country to fortify foods with folic acid to ensure that the population, especially women of childbearing age, were consuming enough of the nutrient. In the decades since dozens of countries implemented similar folic acid fortification initiatives. The initiatives, which included all cereal grain products, substantially increased folate intake across all age groups. Some of the foods that are typically fortified with folic acid include flour, bread, pasta, rice, and breakfast cereals. Folate deficiency used to be far more common worldwide and still is in some countries. However, improved diets and the introduction of fortified foods have dramatically reduced folate deficiency and related health issues. A study conducted two years after U.S. folate fortification began found that reports of low folate had decreased by almost 97 percent.
