Natural Sources of Folic Acid

Folate and folic acid are very important nutrients for everyone - especially pregnant women and women of child-bearing age in general - as it is one of the most important things that help a body to produce and grow new cells. It helps to properly form new cells, which is why it's a great prevention when it comes to cancer and birth defects - it's when DNA is not formed correctly that the chances of cancer and birth defects are a much greater risk. It has also shown to improve blood circulation, which helps to reduce the risk of heart disease.

These reasons should be more than enough to look for an active diet with plenty of folic acid. You may have a folate deficiency without even realizing it, or just aren't sure how to incorporate it well into your diet. Listed below are several natural sources of folic acid (folate).

- Asparagus. This green vegetable has been known for its nutritional benefits for thousands of years, which also includes a high level of folic acid - the highest out of any other vegetable. Just one cup will give you nearly 70% of the recommended daily value for folic acid! Along with ingesting this well-needed nutrient, you're also getting a lot of other vitamins, including A, C, E and the B vitamins, along with plenty of fiber and iron.

- Beets. This vegetable also has quite a few nutrients, folate being the top one. One cup of this tasty veggie will give you about 35% of the recommended daily value for folic acid.

- Orange juice is one of the best and easiest ways to consume your daily need for folic acid. Just one cup of the juice will provide you around half of your daily value! The nutrient is also found in similar juices, such as pineapple and grapefruit, and it does not matter if you consume the juice fresh or from concentrate.

- Liver may not be fully healthy in itself, but it does pack a high amount of folate. One slice holds nearly half your daily value for the nutrient.

- Beans - all kinds of them. Black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, lima beans... even garbanzo beans, baked beans, navy beans and green beans all pack a good amount of folic acid. So no matter what bean is your favorite, you will still be getting a decent amount of your RDA for folate! Of course, how much the beans carry depends upon the type. Pinto beans give about 35% of the daily value, while lima beans give only 20%. Black beans give about 30%, and kidney and navy beans between 15 and 20%.

- Green peas are another good source of folate, as well as the B6 vitamin. Both of these together help even more to reduce homocysteine in your blood, of which high levels aren't good for your blood vessels. The K vitamin in green peas assists the body's cardiovascular system even further. It only takes one cup of green peas to consume a quarter of your daily value for folate.

- Broccoli is a very healthy vegetable, of which a cup of it includes around 24% of your recommended daily value for folic acid.

- Brussels sprouts, if you like them, are about as healthy as broccoli when it comes to folic acid - one cup will provide you 23-24% of the daily value.

- Strawberries! Almost everyone loves strawberries, and fortunately for this, they have the most folic acid out of any other fruit - one serving (about two handfuls of medium-sized strawberries) holds around 20% of the RDA. They are also a great choice if you want to steer clear of sodium, fat, and cholesterol - strawberries contain none, but have more vitamin C per serving than an orange.

- Nuts, nearly all kinds, have some folic acid in them. Peanuts have around 10% of the recommended daily value, whereas the peanut butter you spread on a peanut butter/jelly sandwich will have around 18%. Almonds, cashews and pistachios are also good sources of folate.

Overall, you can see getting the right amount of folic acid is quite easier than it seems. Remember, when cooking vegetables to never cook them in the microwave, and steam them whenever you can. This will ensure that hardly any, if any at all, of the wonderful nutrients are depleted from the food.