Are You Folate Defficient

Vitamin B-9 helps the body create red blood cells and produce DNA. It’s often referred to as folate. Folate also helps brain development and nervous system functioning. Folic acid is the synthetic form found in supplements or fortified foods.

Folate is especially important for fetal development. It plays a crucial role in the formation of a developing child’s brain and spinal cord. Folate deficiency can lead to severe birth defects, growth problems, or anemia.

You can find folate in the following foods:

• beans and lentils
• citrus fruits
• leafy green vegetables
• asparagus
• meats, such as poultry and pork
• shellfish
• fortified grain products
• whole grains

While beans can provide a great amount of folate, the folate content in canned beans is about half of what cooked, dried beans offer.

Most people in the United States get enough folate. But pregnant women and women of childbearing age sometimes don’t consume enough folate for a healthy pregnancy.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant consume up to 400 micrograms of folic acid each day — over and above the folate they’re getting from food naturally — to help prevent birth defects.

There’s also research showing that some people have genetic mutations that prevent their body from methylating folate, or converting it to a form the body can use. In these cases, while folate intake might be adequate, a supplement of methylated folate may be necessary to prevent deficiency.