You already know eating a healthy and balanced diet is a key component of leading a healthy life, maintaining a healthy weight and preventing chronic conditions. Eating a well-rounded diet ensures you get the proper amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body needs. But do you know what those vitamins and minerals are?
You likely have heard of and know the importance of vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, fiber and iron in your diet, but there’s one vitamin you should also be sure to get plenty of: folic acid. Folic acid is most well-known for its important benefits to pregnant women and women attempting to become pregnant.
Folic acid is incredibly important for women who might get pregnant – women with enough folic acid in their bodies before and during pregnancy can help prevent major birth defects, including spina bifida and anencephaly, two serious nervous system malformations.
But folic acid isn’t just important for pregnant women – it provides many health benefits to men and women of all ages.
Studies have shown that folic acid, which is also known as folate or vitamin B9, may help prevent some chronic health conditions, mood disorders and even some forms of cancer.
Folic acid helps your body break down, create and use new proteins in addition to helping form new blood cells and create new DNA.
Folic acid may also help prevent heart disease.
Folic acid has shown to reduce levels of a chemical called homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine are linked to heart disease and stroke. Without folic acid, high homocysteine levels can cause blood to clot more easily, potentially leading to heart attacks and stroke.
Folic acid may also help prevent kidney disease or help improve it since high levels of homocysteine have also been associated with serious kidney disease.
Some studies have found that folic acid may play a part in mood regulation and help with depression. Folic acid may play a key role in preventing overall memory loss associated with old age, possibly even reducing your risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. This compound is believed to help with the breakdown of triglycerides, which are a type of fat in blood that’s used for energy – type 2 diabetes is linked to high levels of triglycerides.
Want to get more folic acid into your system? You’re in luck – there are many foods that are naturally rich sources:
Dark leafy greens are often considered some of the healthiest foods you can eat, and they happen to be highest in folate. Consider adding more spinach, kale, collard greens, turnip greens and romaine lettuce to your diet for an immediate boost in folic acid.
One large plate of these leafy greens can provide nearly all your daily requirements for folic acid.
Brussels sprouts and broccoli are also high in folic acid.
Asparagus is one of the most nutrient dense foods with vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, manganese, and folic acid. Eating one cup of asparagus will provide you with 65 percent of your daily folate needs.
Pinto beans, lima beans, green peas, black-eyed peas and kidney beans may not be your favorite things to eat, but they’re especially high in folic acid. A small bowl of any type of lentils will give you the majority of your recommended amount of folate.
You know citrus fruits tend to be high in vitamin C, but they’re also rich sources of folic acid. Many fruits contain folic acid, but citrus fruits rank highest – oranges are especially high in the vitamin. Other folate-rich fruits include grapefruits, papayas, grapes, bananas, strawberries, raspberries and cantaloupe.
So do yourself a favor, eat your vegetables and have some fruit for dessert. For those thinking about becoming moms, folate supplements are probably in order, talk to your health care provider.
