medicated bread

Hi
This is the first time I have heard of ALL bread being medicated with folic acid (it's in the NZ Herald). This will mean that ALL store bought bread will be medicated. The pro's of this seem ok, if you need it, but the con's are causing me concern, surely this issue could be dealt with differently. For me, I think I will be getting the breadmaker out of the cupboard.
for anyone wanting to read the article here is the link;

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10572764

as few as 4 babies? what happens if 20 extra die of cancer that woudn't have otherwise... Time to write to the ministers and get them to scrap it. and spend the extra costs on making folic acid tablets available for free through plunket and midwives to pregnant women.

Cheaper, and targeted at the people who need it. not those that don't.

It is a left over so this party is looking into it hope they scrap it to

Certified organic bread is exempt from this compulsory mass medication folly so for us eating only organic (gluten free) or home made it's not an issue

A similar situation to the pure unfluoridated water we drink from our roof water tank I suppose

My understanding from the article is that though the current govt wants to change this they probably can't as it is bound up with the aussies and some trade thingy.

This really is a hornets nest... once again here for a few many suffer. NOw I had a neuro tube defect babe and the horrors of such... but I dont expect the country to have the bread on my behalf.. and with the fact that many other syndromes and diseases .. and medications some folk should not be having extra folic acid.. its going to be a nightmare..
I cant believe it cant be stopped... that is a cop out
guess breadmakers will do a killing.. until they then add it to the routine flour.
wonder if the McD buns will have it in after all the breeding population are more likely to have takeaways than make sammies.
YET still pregnant mothers are allowed to smoke during and after pregnancy... more foetal abnormalities come from that...
I can only think of very sarcastic things to say about the whole process.

beedee like your last comment next it will be maybe milk additives GRRRRRRRRRR

Gidday

It's like sugar. Because too many people eat too much sugar and stuff their teeth up it was decided to put rat poison in all our water for mass medication instead of putting it in the sugar which causes the problems.

Is the bread causing these birth problems and if not why pick onm bread to poison us all with.

Kiwi303;249602 wrote: as few as 4 babies? what happens if 20 extra die of cancer that woudn't have otherwise... Time to write to the ministers and get them to scrap it. and spend the extra costs on making folic acid tablets available for free through plunket and midwives to pregnant women.

Cheaper, and targeted at the people who need it. not those that don't.

Well, it's not 4 babies that die - its 4 babies with neural tube defects. Over a lifetime these babies will cost our health system $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Now, if 20 extra people die of colon cancer - a cancer that tends to kill people older than lets say 50 or 55, but mostly people in their 60s - this saves our government $$$$$ in pension payments. Also, colon cancer is one of the cheaper ways to die - saves $$.

So if there are no more babies with neural tube defects saving is $$$$$$$$$$$$, plus $$$$$ in pension payments plus $$ for cheap way to die makes a saving of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

So it's worth medicating our whole population[}][}][}][}][}].

I'd like to mention that I have 4 bread makers and I haven't eaten store bought bread for many years. Too many additives.

To your other point - making folic acid available to all pregnant women.
When I got pregnant with my youngest 13 years ago the first thing my GP did was give me a prescription for folic acid. During my previous two pregnancies this was not the case.

I would assume that now that it is known that neural tube defects are caused by a lack of folic acid, this practice is still in place. It is a certain kind of pregnant person who does not take these supplements and to get them to have it, our (previous) government decided that medicating the whole population is the way to go.[}]

If the figure today really is 4 then the number of these babies has gone down significantly since the introduction of free folic acid supplements for pregnant women. I don't remember the number I was told it was back then but it certainly was a lot higher - in the dozens for NZ.

... I hope you realize that I totally agree with what you posted

When I was pregnant, I was told that my chance of have a child with NTD was approximately 4% because I was Irish. And since NTD's occur in the first month of pregnancy, folic acid is especially important before pregnancy occurs. Folic acid also decreases the risk of cleft palate and congential heart defects. Not knowing anything about your health care system, I will not comment on the doctor-patient exchange of information. I will say that not everyone here knows about the importance of folic acid.

Many of these defects are picked up at scan and are aborted.. so that has reduced the number since the 'many years ago' status!.
Its also very important to have a decent folic acid level prior to conception not after the "night" so planning means starting folic acid 3-6mths before.. maybe 14yr olds should have a blood test to check and treat them. lets really go for the mass numbers, IF you dont eat your spinach then a blood test will be done.
I sitll dont think putting it in bread will work.
Being both a low folic leveller and gluten intolerant and possible crohns,myself and having been a statistic.
then the folic acid in bread, one, wont be eaten, two, the amount sooo small that poor absorption wont make the necessary difference, and so the whole scenario is flawed for those 20 mums one is trying to reach.. and yes I did eat my spinach.. and the neural tube is formed before you even notice that you are one day late!!
Now what happens to those on medication that one mustnt be taking iron or folic acid additives as it will reduce the action of the med.. does that mean rest homes and the elderly especially have to make their own bread????

Lady Yank, many of the mothers to be these days dont arrive for planning until about the 5th month and then to a midwife.
It has been well documented in the best places... womens weekly etc over the years, I first heard about it about 1976, so since most breeding stock hatched after this date, it has been well publicised during the mothers lifetime!!!
you mention cleft palate, taking codeine can cause cleft palate in the early stages of pregnancy also..
so like all species the mother needs to be in the best state of health prior and take any medications with caution.
AND if the irish are more susceptible, then maybe the humble potato should be soaked in folic water or added to those potato cake things, if the population eat more spuds than anything else.. or since my geneology had a high % of irish, maybe that was my problem.. and not the weed spray that was used by the city council and caused a surge in birth defects over a 3 mth period that year.