Folic Acid
Why Folic Acid is Important
If you’ve ever been pregnant, you’ll know that folic acid is important for a growing baby. But it’s not all about the kids – it plays a crucial role in adults too. Find out more below!
How Folic Acid Helps the Body
Folic acid doesn’t actually occur naturally, anywhere. It is a synthetic version of vitamin B9, or folate, which you can only get from your diet. However, it is a very important vitamin for the body. It plays a role in creating DNA and repairing it as necessary. It also helps red blood cells, and lots of other cells, grow and work properly. (1)
How Folic Acid Boosts the Memory
Want to improve your memory? Studies have shown that folate plays an important part in brain health and can even reduce your risk of cognitive decline (2). It does this by helping change scary homocysteine amino acids into more useful compounds in the body. This is important as homocysteine is neurotoxic and is blamed for ailments such as Alzheimer’s (3).
How Folic Acid Boosts Energy Levels
Just like all the B vitamins, folic acid helps convert carbohydrates to energy. It’s role in red blood cell formation is also important, as the red blood cells carry oxygen throughout all the cells, which supercharges them so you feel more energetic. So, unlike the other B vitamins, Folic Acid doesn’t just create the energy; it distributes it around the body too.
How Folic Acid Helps During Pregnancy
Folic acid is one of the most important vitamins you can take during pregnancy, as it helps supports the growing baby for healthy development (4). In fact, women are often advised to start taking folic acid supplements from the moment they start trying to make a baby, as it plays such as important part in the early days of pregnancy. One of the first things to develop is the neural tube, which comprises your baby’s spine and brain. Folic acid is responsible for making this strong and healthy.
Why Folic Acid Should be Taken
Since folic acid is a synthetic mineral, you won’t find it in your food. Its natural equivalent, folate, can be found in dark leafy greens, peanuts, and beans, but this includes a much broader range of B9 nutrients. That is why supplementation is so important, especially during pregnancy , as it help makes sure you get enough of this important vitamin (5).
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.661198/full
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/786606#:~:text=Homocysteine%20also%20has%20a%20direct,increased%20risk%20of%20Alzheimer%20disease.
- https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/folic-acid/about-folic-acid/
- https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/faqs/faqs-general-info.html