enriched breads

Milling removes the bran and germ from whole grain, stripping most of its B vitamins, iron, and fibre; enrichment restores a defined set of these nutrients, while fortification adds nutrients not originally present in meaningful amounts. In the United States folic acid fortification of enriched cereal grains became mandatory in 1998 and was followed by a fall of roughly a third in neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly, since closure of the neural tube occurs by the fourth week of gestation, often before pregnancy is recognized. Niacin enrichment effectively eliminated endemic pellagra, which had been common where maize was the staple because its niacin is bound as niacytin and unavailable without alkali treatment. Important caveats for exams: enriched grains do not restore fibre or magnesium, and folic acid supplementation can correct the megaloblastic anaemia of vitamin B12 deficiency while allowing the subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord to progress unchecked.