An odd example of civilizational adequacy and inadequacy at the same time: food fortification has made folic acid deficiency one of the least common nutritional deficiencies, but pregnant people are still advised to take a folic acid supplement, even though they are almost certainly not deficient. (I suppose the idea is that extra folic acid is harmless.)
This is not quite right. Food fortification tends to be somewhat limited in intensity by the fact that many people getting the extra folate aren’t pregnant and an excess amount might be bad for them. But normal levels of folate may not be enough to minimize neural tube defects.
The actual wrong thing about this advice is that the supplements are only really useful in preventing birth defects around the time of conception—so by the time you know you’re pregnant, it’s not likely to make much of a difference.
This is not quite right. Food fortification tends to be somewhat limited in intensity by the fact that many people getting the extra folate aren’t pregnant and an excess amount might be bad for them. But normal levels of folate may not be enough to minimize neural tube defects.
The actual wrong thing about this advice is that the supplements are only really useful in preventing birth defects around the time of conception—so by the time you know you’re pregnant, it’s not likely to make much of a difference.