Folate vs Folic Acid – What you NEED to know
In addition to my 3 years of clinical training, I’ve been working with patients for 20 years now. In those 20 years and the thousands of patients I’ve worked with, I’ve seen amazing health breakthroughs and incredible healing. But I’ve also been witness to heartbreaking health tragedies.
One of those tragedies involved folate. I won’t go into the details but I will say this:
When you hear the advice to take a good prenatal, heed it. From the March of Dimes to the Mayo Clinic, from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to the National Institutes of Health, everyone agrees that folate is probably the most critical nutrient for pregnant women.
If you read my last email about which form of B12 is the most beneficial, many of the same points apply to folate. Folic acid is OK, but methylfolate is better.
Methylfolate is the active, bioavailable form of folate, a B-vitamin that plays a crucial role in fetal development during pregnancy.
The methylated form is more easily absorbed and utilized by the body than folic acid. Folic acid is actually the synthetic form of folate and not even found in nature! However, it’s commonly found in prenatal supplements because it’s more shelf stable and much cheaper.
You’re unlikely to get too much folate between diet and prenatals, but too much folic acid can cause side effects including nausea, diarrhea and worse.
Studies show that sufficient folate levels improve implantation and increase pregnancy rates.
Folate has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in the developing fetus.
It has also been shown to reduce the risk of other pregnancy complications, such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and preeclampsia.
In addition to a healthy pregnancy and baby, studies show that methylfolate can help decrease depression and improve satisfaction with the medical treatment of depression.
And, there is evidence that methylfolate may prevent post-pregnancy anemia.
It can take up to 4 months of supplementation to get your folate level healthy for pregnancy. Neural tube defects occur within 25-29 days after conception, so it’s incredibly important to have sufficient amounts of this nutrient available to your fetus before you become pregnant.
Overall, methylfolate is a better form of folate for prenatals because of its improved absorption and utilization. It also has lower risk of side effects, and ability to reduce the risk of neural tube defects and other pregnancy complications. The recommended dose is 400 mcg daily when TTC and 600mcg daily when pregnant, although some studies support even higher doses. As always, talk to your doctor about what dose is right for you.
If you’d like to work with me to get your family started, call or text Float Euphoria to schedule an appointment. 509-940-1888