Home › Nutrition › NUTRITION WHY’S #30: WHY FOLATE? Folate also known as folic acid or vitamin B9 is essential for producing red blood cells, protecting the DNA in your genes, and maintaining normal metabolism of the amino acids methionine and homocysteine together with vitamins B6 and B12.

NUTRITION WHY’S #30: WHY FOLATE? Folate also known as folic acid or vitamin B9 is essential for producing red blood cells, protecting the DNA in your genes, and maintaining normal metabolism of the amino acids methionine and homocysteine together with vitamins B6 and B12.

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NUTRITION WHY’S #30: WHY FOLATE? Folate also known as folic acid or vitamin B9 is essential for producing red blood cells, protecting the DNA in your genes, and maintaining normal metabolism of the amino acids methionine and homocysteine together with vitamins B6 and B12. The name folate is derived from the Latin word for leaf, and the sources in the diet are dark green leafy vegetables. Most people do not get adequate folate from their diet. Folate from supplements is superior to food folate, since 85% of folate from supplements is absorbed while folate in foods are only 50% available to the body. Supplementing folate is very important, since low folate during pregnancy is associated with serious birth defects of the spine and brain. Over 50 countries fortify foods with folate for this reason. The recommended intake for men and women is 400 micrograms per day, which is the amount found in multivitamins. It is important to take vitamin B12 with folate and multivitamins have both. Taking large amounts of folate above 1000 micrograms without B12 can lead to paralysis. During pregnancy, women should take prenatal multivitamins which typically have 800 micrograms of folic acid. Folic acid supplementation can reduce the risk of heart disease in individuals with a genetic variant of an enzyme (TT form of Methylene Tetrahydrofolate Reductase or MTHFR) which occurs in 10% of normal individuals. The heart health benefits of folate have not been demonstrated in all studies due to lack of considering this genetic aspect of Personalized Nutrition. Balanced Nutrition includes a Multivitamin Supplement every day. About 50% of Americans buy multivitamins but only 35% remember to take them every day! Put your vitamins on the breakfast table or somewhere where you can remember to take them!! #drdavidheber #multivitamin #folate #dna #pregnancy to learn more go to www.drdavidheber.com and www.herbalifenutritioninstitute.com

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Categories: Nutrition

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