How to Add More Folate to Your Diet

Folate, which is also known as folic acid, is essentially a version of Vitamin B9 that is water-soluble. B vitamins are essential to good health and aid in many bodily processes. Folate in particular, however, is absolutely key to maintaining good cardiovascular health, as well as reproductive and mental health. It is even more important for pregnant women to ingest proper amounts of this key nutrient.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Know that the absolute best natural source of folate is found in the form of leafy vegetables. In fact, the root derivative word for "folate" comes from the Latin "folium", which denotes a leaf. In other words, lettuce, spinach, greens, and other leafy veggies are great sources of folic acid.
2. Consider that if leafy vegetables aren't your favorites, don't give up without a fight. There are many other vegetables that contain good quantities of folate. Examples of these are beans, peas and broccoli. Adding these to your diet will definitely help to boost your folate levels.
3. Know that fruits are also a relatively good source of folate. Virtually all fruits contain at least some amount of folic acid. Therefore, if you're not a veggie fan then make sure you're at least getting your recommended daily servings of fruit.
4. Check your breakfast cereal to make sure that it's fortified with folate. Many modern-day cereals, concerned with appealing to health-conscious consumers, have taken to fortifying their products with high levels of folic acid. If you don't think you're getting enough through natural sources, this can be a great way to increase your folate intake.
5. Consider adding a folate supplement to your diet. This is certainly not the optimal way to get your folic acid requirement, particularly seeing as the natural sources of the nutrient are all extremely healthy food options, but in a pinch this method will have to do.

Tips & Warnings

• Before adding a specific folate supplement to your diet, check to make sure you're not already taking folate in a multivitamin form. Most multivitamins contain a good amount of the nutrient, which may also be labeled as Vitamin B9 or Folic Acid.
• Do not increase your folate consumption to a level higher than that which is recommended by the FDA guidelines. While folic acid is rarely toxic to humans at nearly any concentration, excessive amounts of it can mask Vitamin B12 deficiency, which can be a potentially life-threatening condition.