Swedish women will get free folic acid supplements

After years of debate, the Swedish National Food Administration have decided to provide all Swedish women aged 18-45 with free folic acid supplement. The decision was published in a press release today. This is a compromise between the uncertainty whether folic acid supplements increases the risk of colon cancer if distributed to the whole population through enriched food and the risk for pregnant women to give birth to children with spina bifida if their blood folate levels are low (around 20-25 births in Sweden per year and around 80 abortions after week 16).