Folate and Folic Acid

I've been getting a lot of questions about folate and folic acid lately and thought it might help if I go into it here a bit more. 

Folic acid is a form of folate- you find it in fortified or enriched foods and vitamin supplements. 

Folate is a B vitamin (it's actually B9) that you find in some foods. 

Folate and folic acid absorb differently so you might see DFE or dietary folate equivalent that is used to measure folate. 

Most people have heard that folic acid is important in pregnancy. That's true, for a few reasons:

• Folate is used to make Red Blood Cells (RBC) and White Blood Cells (WBC). When you are pregnant, this helps your baby grow.
• In pregnancy, it decreases the risk of neural tub defects (NTD) which affect the baby's brain, skull and spinal cord, such as spina bifida and anencephaly. This can happen very early - in the 1st or 2nd week after you miss your period, which is often before you may even know that you are pregnant. For this reason, I always recommend anyone who could get pregnant to take a multivitamin with at least 400 mcg of folic acid in it every day. 
• Folate works with Vitamin B12 to make DNA. 
• If you don't get enough folate it can cause anemia.

Too much folic acid is not recommended, so don't take more than 1000 mcg (1mg) per day.

Foods that contain folate include: 
Protein: dried beans, peas, lentils and edamame. Canned ones still have folate but not as much as dried varieties.  Sunflower seeds and peanuts. 

Fruits and Vegetables: oranges, papaya, avocado. Also dark green veggies such as spinach, broccoli, romaine lettuce, bok choy, green peas, brussels sprouts and asparagus.

Grain: wheat germ, enriched grain products such as fortified pasta, bread, crackers and cereal. 

So, what are your daily needs?

• Pregnancy: 600mcg DFE
• Breastfeeding: 500mcg DFE
• Adults (over age 14): 400mcg DFE

Looking for some meal and snack ideas that are high in folate? Try some of these:

• dried chickpeas used for homous with enriched crackers.
• dried lentils with tomato sauce and enriched pasta.
• sunflower seeds sprinkled on peanut butter toast.
• peanut butter brownies made with black beans.
• asparagus served with eggs and toast.

If you need more support with getting foods high in folate into your diet contact Jill, Nurture The Future's Registered Dietitian at nf.nutrition@gmail.com 

References:

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/folate

​https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/folate-neural-tube-defects