Although people in good health need only about 50 micrograms of folic acid every day, the need for this important member of the vitamin B complex increases dramatically (seven to 20-fold) during bacterial infections and after loss of blood. Extra folic acid is used whenever new cells are formed in large numbers anywhere in the body.

Thus, when the bone marrow produces many extra white blood cells to fight an infection or forms many new red blood cells to make up for blood lost during surgery or hemorrhage, it suddenly uses much more folic acid than usual. If this increased need is not recognized and met, the patient will be unable to produce all the necessary white cells, red cells, and platelets, or to recover completely from a serious infection, even though transfusions and antibiotics are employed.

A report in Critical Care Medicine (8:500) points out that during a serious illness, the bone marrow uses up its folic acid stores so fast that it becomes deficient in this essential vitamin even though folic acid levels in the blood and other tissues remain normal.

It may not be possible for patients to obtain all the vitamins they need by mouth when they are seriously ill, and to facilitate recovery, daily injections of folic acid (10 milligrams) may be required. Another reason that folic acid in tablet form may not be recommended, the American Family Physician (32#4:290) reports, is that it may cause a deficiency of zinc. If present in the stomach to excess, it is thought, folic acid combines with all of the zinc contained in our food, thus rendering it insoluble and less easily absorbed.

Foods such as peanut butter, beans, nuts, liver, and green leafy vegetables are natural sources of folic acid.

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a medical mystery. Otherwise known as cot death, it seems SIDS is not a new phenomenon. It was referred to in the Bible (by another name) and was well described in medical journals over 150 years ago. In Australia, about one in every 500 babies dies of SIDS in their first year of life, usually between the first and fifth month.

SIDS is medically defined as the unexpected death of an apparently healthy baby for whom an autopsy fails to identify the cause of death. In other words, it is not known why the baby died. It seems that the baby simply dies within about five minutes, usually while asleep, without any indication of pain or distress.

There are over 100 theories about the possible causes of SIDS. To date none have been proven. One day, through research, we may be able to determine some or all of the causes of SIDS and identify those babies who may be at risk. Statistics reveal that SIDS occurs most often in the winter months, and it affects more boys than girls. The baby has sometimes had a mild respiratory infection and may not have been feeding well in the preceding months. Even though these and other factors are more common in children who die from SIDS, it does not necessarily mean they are the direct cause of SIDS. Many infants die from SIDS with no indication of these factors being present. Also, in cases where these factors are present, most babies do not die. This may sound rather confusing but indicates the current state of knowledge. These factors may however give clues to researchers about further lines of investigation. Despite extensive research there is nothing known as yet that can be done to prevent a baby dying from SIDS.

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