Donna and Dave Allen of Springhill, Texas, want to look fabulous when they go to Cancun this summer. To trim down a bit, they're both following what Donna Allen calls "a sort of cross between Atkins and South Beach." However, the couple, married nearly two years, has also been talking about trying to conceive their first child in the very near future. Neither of them were aware that their low-carb lifestyle may seriously impact the health of their future child.

What the Allens don't realize is that one of the main sources for folic acid in the American diet is fortified grain products, such as cereals, breads and pastas. Folic acid is a crucial nutrient that has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, which are serious birth defects that involve incomplete development of the brain, spinal cord and/or protective coverings for these organs. Neural tube defects include spina bifida (failure of the spine to close properly), anencephaly (underdeveloped brains and incomplete skulls) and encephalocele (a hole in the skull in which brain tissue protrudes).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these severe brain and spinal birth defects have dropped 27 percent since 1998, the year that the government began requiring food makers to fortify cereal, bread, pasta and flour with folic acid. Since folic acid fortification, spina bifida cases have dropped 31 percent, and anencephaly cases have fallen 16 percent.

However, the CDC also estimates that fully half of all pregnancies are unplanned. It's likely that these women are not really thinking much about their developing fetuses until they are already pregnant, perhaps even several weeks to a month along in their pregnancy. But, according to Dr. Frederick Licciardi, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the New York University School of Medicine, it is the first week or so that is most crucial when it comes to sufficient amounts of folic acid.

"Neural tube defects occur very early in pregnancy, often before a woman realizes she's pregnant," says Dr. Licciardi. "To get the benefits of folic acid's ability to prevent these birth defects, the supplement needs to be taken for at least several weeks before she gets pregnant. Since many women don't see their doctor until after that 6-week window, it's too late for folic acid to make a significant impact."

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