Cancer diagnosis and risk have always been a huge concern for individuals and, because of these concerns, researchers constantly try to find ways to prevent the disease and have been successful in some instances.
New research on the significance of diet in children and expectant mothers has revealed that the incorporation of folic acid into the diet of a young child or expectant mother reduces the risk of cancer in small children. In a study led by Kimberly J. Johnson, Ph.D. it was revealed that expectant mothers and children with adequate levels of folic acid in their diet were at a significantly reduced rate of developing childhood cancers, almost to zero.
During the 1980s, there was a severe epidemic of children being diagnosed with cancers such as Wilm’s tumors, a certain type of kidney cancer in children, as well as primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET), a type of brain cancer also only found in children. According to the most recent findings:
Our study is the largest to date to show that folic acid fortification may lower the incidence of certain types of childhood cancer pre and post-mandated folic acid fortification. Declines in Wilms’ tumors and PNETS in children were detected by multiple analyses of the data.
The addition of folic acid into all children’s diets was mandated in 1997, which resulted in a significant declines in Wilms’ tumor diagnosis rates. Also, in 1993 PNET rates decreased significantly with the 1992 recommendation for women of childbearing age to consume 400 mg of folic acid daily.