Apparently, folic acid is not only a key factor for fetal brain/spinal cord development, it may also reduce the risk of stroke- according to Professor Xiaobin Wang (Children's Memorial Hospital and Children's Memorial Research Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA) and colleagues.

Folic acid is a form of the water-soluble Vitamin B9, whose supplementation to pregnant women (in the first trimester of pregnancy) helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord of the developing fetus.

...folic acid lowers the concentrations of homocysteine in the blood. High amounts of homocysteine are thought to increase the risk of stroke, as well as that of cardiovascular disease and deep vein thrombosis.

Meta-analysis of eight trials of folic acid (that had stroke reported as one of the endpoints) revealed coherent evidence that folic acid supplementation can significantly reduce the risk of stroke in primary prevention.

Well I guess folic acid supplementation is not for (pregnant) women alone. Findings have been reported at The Lancet.

Source: Medical News Today

[In photo: Nature's Made Folic Acid 400 mcg Tablets from Amazon]