Getting Enough Folic Acid (Folate)

Overview

What is folic acid?

Folic acerb is one of the B vitamins your body needs for thoroughly health. The vitamin is besides called vitamin bc .

• Folate is the natural form of this vitamin. It’s found in leafy green vegetables, oranges, nuts, and beans.
• Folic acid is the man-made form. It’s put into vitamin pills and fortified foods, such as fortified breakfast cereals.

Getting enough of this vitamin prevents vitamin bc insufficiency anemia. It besides prevents sealed parturition defects .
Most people barely say “ folic acid ” for either form of this vitamin .

What is the recommended daily amount?

Folic acid is measured in micrograms using Dietary Folate Equivalents ( DFE ). here are the casual recommended amounts of folic acid : annotate 1

• Babies 0–6 months old need 65 microgram ( micrograms ) DFE each day.
• Babies 7–12 months old need 80 mcg DFE each day.
• Children 1–3 years old need 150 mcg DFE each day.
• Children 4-8 years old need 200 mcg DFE each day.
• Children 9–13 years old need 300 mcg DFE each day.
• Children over 13 years old need 400 mcg DFE each day.
• Men need 400 mcg DFE each day.
• Women’s needs vary.
  • Pregnant women need 600 mcg DFE each day.
  • Breastfeeding women need 500 mcg DFE each day.
  • Most other women need 400 mcg DFE each day.

How much do women need?

Folic acid is measured in micrograms using Dietary Folate Equivalents ( DFE ). The recommend amounts of folic acerb for women are : footnote 1

• 400 mcg DFE for women who are not pregnant.
• 600 mcg DFE for pregnant women.
• 500 mcg DFE for breastfeeding women.

Women who do n’t get adequate folic acid before and during pregnancy are more probable to have a child born with a birth defect, such as :

• A neural tube blemish, like spina bifida. Neural tube defects are some of the most common types of birth defects in the United States.
• A crack lip or cling palate.

even if a womanhood eats a well balanced diet, she may not get the supernumerary folic acidic she needs to prevent give birth defects unless she besides takes a accessory. So experts say that all women who are able to get meaning should take a daily supplement that has 400 to 800 microgram of folic acidic. footnote 2
Some women need evening higher doses .

• Women who are pregnant with twins or more should take 1000 mcg a day. annotate3
• Women who have a family history of neural tube defects, who have already had a baby with a neural tube defect, or who are on medicines for seizures should take 4000 mcg a day. footnote4

Follow your repair ‘s advice about how to get higher amounts of folic acid. Do n’t just take more multivitamins. You could get besides a lot of the other substances that are in the multivitamin .

Folic acid recommendations for women who aren’t planning to get pregnant

even if you are n’t planning to get meaning, your doctor of the church may recommend a day by day addendum .
many pregnancies are n’t planned. And the birth defects that folic acerb can prevent start to form in the first 6 weeks of pregnancy. This is often before a womanhood flush knows she ‘s pregnant .
So you can see why getting adequate day by day folic acid—even before you get pregnant—is so crucial. If you are meaning and you have not been taking a vitamin containing folic acid, begin taking it right aside .

What foods contain folic acid?

Folic acid is found in vitamin supplements and folic-acid-fortified foods such as breakfast cereals and breads. The natural form of folic acidic is called vitamin bc. Foods high in vitamin bc include liver-colored, citrus fruits, and dark greens like spinach. Read food labels to see how a lot folic acidic or folate the food contains .
Folic acidic and vitamin bc are measured in micrograms using Dietary Folate Equivalents ( DFE ). here is a list of some foods that contain folic acerb or vitamin bc. footnote 5

Estimates of folic acid or folate in certain foods

food
Serving size
total
Fortified ( with 25 % of casual necessity ) breakfast cereal
1 cup
100 microgram ( micrograms ) DFE or more
Spinach, cooked
½ cup

131 microgram DFE
Beef liver, cooked
3 oz
215 microgram DFE
Frozen peas, boiled
1 cup
47 microgram DFE
Asparagus, boiled
4 spears
89 microgram DFE
Enriched white rice, cooked
½ cup
90 microgram DFE
Frozen broccoli, cooked
½ cup
52 microgram DFE
Avocado, raw
½ cup
59 microgram DFE
orange
1 little
29 microgram DFE
Bread, white
1 slice
43 microgram DFE

crab, Dungeness
3 oz
36 microgram DFE

Folic acid tips

• Breads, breakfast cereals, and pasta are often fortified with folic acid. Read labels for the folic acid amount.
• Eat vegetables raw or lightly steamed. Cooking may destroy some of the folate found in food.
• Multivitamins often contain folic acid.