Folic Acid Benefits and Precautions: Do You Need It?

Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate, which is an essential B vitamin. Essential nutrients are those your body can't make on its own. That means that you need to get it through food or supplementation. Whole food contains naturally occurring folate, while some types of processed food are fortified with folic acid. Folic acid also comes as a supplement. In this article, we’ll talk about folic acid benefits as well as precautions.

Folate and Where to Find It

First, let’s talk about folate and how to get it from food.

Folate is vitamin B9. It’s a water-soluble vitamin that's involved cell division and tissue growth. Along with folic acid, it’s mostly known for how important it is during pregnancy for healthy fetal development. The discovery of its importance during pregnancy helped reduce the risk of birth defects, including neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

But a folate deficiency doesn't just affect fetal development; it affects adults too. For example, folate deficiency can lead to pernicious anemia as well as neuropsychiatric problems. Some studies have correlated folate deficiency with depression, dementia, and cognitive decline in vulnerable populations. And, because folate deficiency often comes with B12 deficiency, you can also count B12 deficiency issues as part of the problem here as well.

Thankfully, you don’t need a high dose of folate to avoid these problems. 400 micrograms per day is usually enough, and that can be obtained from food easily enough.

Folate-rich foods include:

• leafy greens (like spinach)
• asparagus
• broccoli
• avocado
• Brussels sprouts
• lemons
• limes
• oranges
• grapefruits
• bananas
• eggs
• liver
• legumes
• nuts and seeds