Folic Acid Health Benefits

Folic acid, or vitamin B9, is available in supplements. It is also added to many grain products, including cereals, breads, and flours. Folate is found naturally in many foods. There are many health benefits of folic acid and not just for pregnant women. I wrote about how folic acid benefited my health in the article Benefits of Folic Acid (Folate) to Heal Cervical Dysplasia.

Folic Acid Health Benefits:

1. Certain medicines, alcohol and tobacco reduce folic acid levels in your body. A folic acid supplement may be helpful to counteract the depletion of this nutrient.

2. Effective treatment for anemia and to prevent malaria.

3. Folate helps your body make new cells.

4. Improves bone health, short term memory, fertility, rheumatoid arthritis, and hearing loss.

5. Increased energy levels.

6. Increases effectiveness of antidepressants.

7. Prevent birth defects, like neural tube defects, especially when taking folic acid supplements prior to conception and during the first weeks of pregnancy. Women should NOT take folic acid late in pregnancy due to an increased risk of childhood asthma.

8. Reduces risk factors for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, stroke, osteoporosis, blood vessel disease, cervical dysplasia, asthma, and macular degeneration.

9. Reduces the risk of renal (kidney) diseases in children.

10. Relieves hot flushes in postmenopausal women.

Folic Acid Foods:

A good way to remember some of the foods that are rich in folate is to think forest green and foliage. The primary source of folate is found in plants.

Dried beans: pinto, kidney, black, lentils

Fruits: avocado, oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, papaya, raspberries

Fruit juices: orange, tomato, grapefruit, pineapple

Giblets

Liver

Nuts: Peanuts, hazelnuts (contain the highest concentration of folate).

Peas: garbanzo (chick peas), black-eyed peas, green peas

Soymilk

Sunflower seed

Vegetables I: (Green, leafy vegetables) spinach, asparagus, romaine or spinach lettuce, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, Chinese cabbage

Vegetables II: asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, okra, corn, cauliflower, potato, beets, green onions, sweet red peppers

Folic acid is found in fortified breakfast cereals, wheat germ, whole wheat breads and flour, pasta, white rice, cornmeal.

Recommended Dietary Allowances

Whoever said that there is no such thing as too much of a good thing was wrong. As wonderful as folic acid is, too much of anything is bad. High levels of folic acid can worsen the effects of vitamin B12 deficiency and affect the absorption of B12. Taking more than the tolerable upper intake level (UL) can mask the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiencies.

The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) of folic acid is 400 mg. Pregnant women should take a folic acid supplement with 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid in the very early stages and prior to becoming pregnancy. Breastfeeding women need 500 mcg. Most prenatal vitamins have the necessary amount of folic acid in them.

Sources

Benefits of Folic Acid (Folate) to Heal Cervical Dysplasia, Associated Content

Folic Acid (Folate) Supplements, Wishard, Krames

Folate (Folic Acid), womenshealth.gov

Hazelnuts for Health, suite101.com

Folic Acid Benefits, Purehealthmed.com

Folic Acid, Wikipedia