> "Malcolm" btinternet.com> wrote in message

>> "Perplexed in Peoria" sbcglobal.net> wrote

>>> "Malcolm" btinternet.com> wrote
>>>

>>>> A Westerner is unlikely to have a serious deficiency of
>>>> anything. ...

>>>
>>> Not universally true. A mild B-12 (I think) deficiency in pregnant
>>> women
>>> significantly increases the risk of birth defects.
>>>

>> From almost nothing to almost nothing.
>> You generate a scary headline when we are still talking of a risk in the
>> millions, by saying the risk is twenty-fold increased.

>
> Ok, I've done some research on the web. It is folate (B-9) not B-12.
> Supplements are frequently recommended in fertile women to prevent
> the birth defect spina bifida. This has (or had, see below) an
> incidence in the US of about 1-2 per thousand births. Not exactly ...