What Is Folic Acid? Folate, Foods and How Much You Need

Folic acid is a supplement-aisle name most people know without ever being told what it is. This guide answers the plain question, what is folic acid. It explains what folate does, how much you need, and which foods supply it. Folic acid is vitamin B9. The body cannot make it and stores little, so you need a steady supply almost daily.

In this article

1. What folic acid is
2. What folic acid does in the body
3. Folic acid before pregnancy, not only during it
4. How much folic acid you need each day
5. The best food sources of folate
6. Why folate levels run low
7. Homocysteine, heart disease and stroke
8. Testing, and what the number means
9. Side effects, allergy signs and medicines
10. Skin, hair, mood and memory: what the evidence supports
11. Eat well, train well, and let us help

What folic acid is

Folic acid is part of the B group of vitamins, specifically vitamin B9. It is water soluble, so the body keeps no large store of it and passes any excess in urine. But the two forms, folate and folic acid, are not identical, and the difference is worth knowing before you read a label.

Folate and folic acid are not the same thing

Folate is the form found naturally in food. Folic acid is the man made form used in supplements and in fortified flour and cereal. According to Harvard's Nutrition Source, the manufactured folic acid is actually absorbed more completely than the folate in food, roughly 85 percent against 50 percent. So the number on a supplement box does not compare directly with the amount listed for a serving of vegetables. The two are measured with that gap in mind.

What folic acid does in the body

The real folic acid benefits are quieter than the marketing suggests. Folate helps build and repair DNA, and it makes healthy red blood cells. Every cell that divides relies on it, so demand rises during rapid growth such as pregnancy. A shortage shows up first in fast dividing tissue, like bone marrow and the mouth lining.

Folic acid before pregnancy, not only during it

Folic acid's best established use is protecting a baby's developing brain and spine. The neural tube closes in the first few weeks after conception. That is often before a woman knows she is pregnant. So starting on the day a test turns positive can come too late. The UK's NHS advises women trying to conceive to begin before pregnancy, ideally about three months ahead, and to continue through the first twelve weeks. The advice is for anyone who might become pregnant, not only those already expecting. The exact plan is worth confirming with a doctor.

How much folic acid you need each day

For most adults the daily target is about 400 micrograms. It rises in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. The US National Library of Medicine lists 600 micrograms a day in pregnancy and 500 while breastfeeding. For adults there is also an upper limit of 1,000 micrograms a day from supplements and fortified foods. Beyond it, extra folic acid brings no benefit. Women who have had a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect are sometimes advised a larger dose, around 4 milligrams, but only under medical supervision.

The best food sources of folate

The richest everyday sources are easy to find in a Gulf kitchen:

• Lentils and other pulses such as chickpeas and beans, a staple of the region's cooking. One cup of cooked lentils supplies roughly 358 micrograms, close to a full day on its own.
• Dark leafy greens like spinach, about 131 micrograms in half a cup once cooked.
• Asparagus, around 134 micrograms in half a cup, along with broccoli.
• Citrus fruit, avocado and eggs, which add smaller amounts across the day.
• Liver, one of the most concentrated sources of all.

No single serving carries the whole day. Spreading these across meals is what adds up, so variety matters more than any one food.

Fortified foods and reading the label

In some countries folic acid is added to flour, bread, pasta and cereal during manufacturing. In others it is optional or not done. The rules differ from one market to the next, so advice written for another country may not apply to your shelf. The only reliable way to know is to read the label on the pack you are buying.

How much folate cooking takes away

Folate is sensitive to heat and water, so cooking can remove a large share of it. Boiling vegetables in plenty of water and then pouring it away is the worst case, because part of the vitamin dissolves out. Steaming, or cooking quickly in a little water, keeps much more. Leaving the cooking water in a soup or a sauce returns some of what would be lost.

Why folate levels run low

Levels can drop for several reasons. A diet short on vegetables and pulses is one. Heavy alcohol use, some gut conditions that reduce absorption, and a few medicines are others. Because the body holds only a small reserve, poor eating can show up sooner than expected.

Symptoms, and which ones point elsewhere

A shortage of folate can show up as:

• Tiredness and a general lack of energy
• Pale skin and shortness of breath on light effort
• A sore or swollen tongue and mouth ulcers
• Irritability

These overlap with a low vitamin B12 level, and the two are easy to confuse. Numbness or tingling in the hands and feet points more strongly to a B12 problem than to folate. That is a reason to ask a doctor for a B12 test, not to start a folic acid tablet on your own. Left uncorrected, it can lead to a form of anaemia, with red blood cells that are fewer and larger than normal.

Homocysteine, heart disease and stroke

Folate helps clear homocysteine, and high homocysteine is linked in observational studies to heart disease. So it was once hoped that B vitamin supplements would protect the heart. Several large trials tested that. They lowered homocysteine, but did not reduce heart attacks or strokes. It is a clear case of a marker moving while the outcome does not, and a reason to be cautious about supplements sold on that link alone.

Testing, and what the number means

A blood test can measure folate. It is usually checked alongside B12, because a shortage of either looks similar, with fewer and larger red cells. A high folate reading is not automatically a good result. A large folic acid intake can keep the blood picture normal while a B12 deficiency quietly damages nerves. So the two are corrected together. Reference ranges vary between laboratories, so the doctor reads the number.

Side effects, allergy signs and medicines

At the usual amounts folic acid is generally well tolerated. Higher doses can bring nausea, loss of appetite, bloating and gas, a metallic taste or disturbed sleep. A rash, itching, swelling of the face or throat, or difficulty breathing are signs of an allergic reaction that needs urgent medical help. Folic acid also interacts with some medicines, including methotrexate, certain anti epileptic drugs and pyrimethamine. Anyone taking these should manage folic acid with their doctor.

Skin, hair, mood and memory: what the evidence supports

Folate supports the cell renewal that skin, hair and nails depend on, so a real deficiency can show in them. What the evidence does not support is the idea that extra doses improve skin, hair, mood or memory when your level is already fine. Correcting a shortage a test has confirmed is one thing. Treating low mood or memory loss with folic acid is another, and the good evidence for it is thin. In short, folate matters, most people can meet their needs from food, and a supplement earns its place when a doctor sees a reason for it.

Eat well, train well, and let us help

Folate is a reminder that the basics, real food and steady habits, do the heavy lifting. If you want that same structure around your workouts, come and try the floor with a free day pass. Fill in the enquiry form and the GymNation team will take it from there.