Folic Acid

You Don't Need to Be Pregnant to Enjoy the Health Benefits of Folic Acid

Overview

Folic acid is also known as folate or Vitamin B9 and is essential for many of the functions that happen within our bodies. The health benefits of folic acid are not only related to pregnancy, but also to other conditions. It is therefore important to get adequate levels of this nutrient whether from diet or other sources. The following are some of the health benefits of folic acid:

Synthesis and repair of DNA

Our bodies need folate for many reactions involving the making of DNA, the repair of DNA and the methylation of DNA.

Manufacture of red blood cells

Folic acid is essential for the manufacture of red blood cells and a deficiency may cause anemia.

Inhibition of homocysteine

Homocysteine is one of the body's intermediate products and raised levels of this bio-substance are thought to lead to cardiovascular disease. A deficiency in folate (among other factors) is thought to be one reason why levels of homocysteine tend to rise. Hence having adequate levels of folate will tend to protect against cardiovascular disease.

Prevention of neural tube defects in developing embryos

Neural tube defects are a defect in the development of the spinal cord in the embryo. This usually happens in the first 28 days of pregnancy, often before a woman even knows that she is pregnant. A deficiency in folic acid increases the possibility of a neural tube defect.

Help against other conditions

Folate is also thought to be beneficial for peripheral vascular disease, schizophrenia, diarrhoea, epilepsy, gingivitis (periodontal disease), gout, depression, cancer (reduces risk), osteoporosis, psoriasis, restless legs syndrome and seborrheic dermatitis.

Recommendations

Given the multiple health benefits of folic acid, it is important that one gets adequate levels of this nutrient. The diet especially green leafy vegetables, citrus fruit, beans, breads, cereals, pastas and rice are good sources. However, supplementation may also be necessary and there are good nutritional supplements on the market.

My preference is for a multi-ingredient product which not only contains folic acid, but also includes over 70 unique ingredients which help with vision, maintaining skin tone, weight management and other aspects of good health. The one important point to be made is that pregnant women need to check with their health professional first whether they can also use this product as it contains other ingredients besides folate.

If you would like to know more about the multi-ingredient supplement that I have researched from which you can also obtain the health benefits of folic acid, then please visit my website today.

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Roger Franklin is a dedicated writer, researcher and passionate user of natural health products at GoodHealthToGo. Please visit http://www.goodhealthtogo.com for more info and to learn about the products that Roger recommends after extensive research.

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