Each play a key role in disease prevention (that public health strategy legislators talk about but fund at levels far below those for disease treatment…ahhh the subject of another post.)

A healthy diet and regular exercise prevent obesity and related illnesses including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

Human milk protects infants and young children against a wide range of acute and chronic diseases and has been shown to have lasting effects on the immune system.

Folic acid taken prior to and during pregnancy reduces the risk for neural tube defects and has been the subject of two prior posts here and here on baby gooroo.

Sounds simple enough—eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, take folic acid before you get pregnant, and breastfeed your baby for at least a year. So how do you explain the results of a study conducted in the Netherlands in which researchers found that only 37 percent of the 6940 women participating in the study took adequate amounts of folic acid prior to getting pregnant? Researchers attributed the lack of adequate intake to unplanned pregnancy, low educational level, and non-western ethnicity.

In the U.S. efforts are underway to insure that all women get the folic acid they need—before and during pregnancy. One example is a campaign by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention entitled, All Women, Every Day that encourages all women to take a multivitamin containing folic acid every day. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration, in 1996, authorized the fortification of enriched cereals with folic acid. Despite much debate, the FDA action has proven to be a highly cost effective strategy. As a result the incidence of neural tube defects including spina bifida has dropped dramatically. But the recent study shows that there is still work to do.

Disease prevention begins with each and every one of us.

Be good to your baby before it’s conceived.