One of the most important nutrients our bodies need, and many times is lacking, is folic acid/ folate (the naturally occurring form of folic acid). A folate deficiency happens when our bodies are lacking enough dietary folic acid. Folate is essential to producing and maintaining new cells, producing red blood cells, producing white blood cells, as well as preventing changes in DNA. A deficiency in folate can lead to severe anemia, neural tube defects in embryo development, ischemic heart disease, and possibly even some cancers. Studies have shown that the supplementation of folic acid has been shown to help in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, some forms of cancer, anemia, and depression. In fact, there is some evidence to suggest that increasing your daily intake of folic acid supplements and/or folate rich foods may also decrease or even prevent strokes.
Folic acid/ folate is essential to the reproductive process. Folate deficiencies in pregnancy can be attributed to birth defects, chromosomal abnormalities, and neural tube defects. In fact, these all occur during the first month of pregnancy. Therefore, it is vitally important that a woman have an abundance of folic acid/ folate in her system before conception to ensure proper cell division and development of the fetus. It is suggested that when actively trying to conceive, a woman should be taking folic acid supplementation of at least 400 mcg a day for at least one month before conception. Once pregnancy is achieved, this amount should be increased to approximately 600 to 800 mcg per day throughout pregnancy for proper development of the fetus and prevention of anemia. Men also need an abundance of folic acid/ folate to reduce chromosomal defects in sperm, which in turn reduces the likelihood of a chromosomal defect in the growing fetus. It is thought that a beneficial amount of folic acid in men wishing to father a child is approximately 700 mcg per day.