The Importance of Folic Acid
Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, also known as vitamin B9. It is related to growth and development, health maintenance, and the risk of various diseases. It is an essential micronutrient for cell proliferation, tissue growth, and body development, and has significant importance for human growth, development, and life activities.
The most significant significance of supplementing folic acid during pregnancy is to prevent some congenital malformations in fetuses.
During the process of fetal growth and development, if folate intake is not sufficient, "neural tube defects" may occur, which may lead to unexpected situations such as spina bifida and anencephaly.
Moreover, the human body cannot synthesize folic acid on its own, so expectant mothers can only supplement their babies with food during pregnancy to provide sufficient intake of folic acid.
Precautions for taking folic acid
When taking folic acid, please stay away from the following diets!
alcohol
Alcohol can affect the absorption of folate and further eliminate the stored folate in the body, while reducing the intestinal absorption capacity for folate.
Foods rich in vitamin C
A large amount of vitamin C can inhibit the absorption of folate in the gastrointestinal tract and accelerate its excretion. Expectant mothers should take folic acid in moderation and avoid overeating.
tea
It is best not to drink tea when eating folic acid, as tea contains tannic acid, which may disrupt the absorption of folic acid in the body.
Spicy or greasy food
Spicy or greasy food will interfere with the absorption of folic acid, so in order to take folic acid to be able to absorb and play a role, temporarily say goodbye to Spicy Hot Pot and Red Oil Hot Pot!
Which foods are good friends of folic acid?
Vitamin B12 is a "good friend" of folate, which can help with folate absorption. Expectant mothers can consume animal liver, kidney, meat such as beef, pork, chicken, fish, clams, and egg products that are rich in vitamin B12 while taking folate.
The relationship between folate and vitamin B12 can be summarized in an old saying: "Eating meat without garlic reduces the aroma by half
Additionally, some people may ask: which foods contain folic acid? Can dietary supplements replace folic acid supplements?
The answer is that fruits such as oranges, strawberries, pears, cherries, and many other fruits are rich in folic acid. Animal organs such as pig liver and chicken liver also contain abundant folate in their liver and kidneys. Coarse grains and vegetables also contain abundant folate, such as brown rice and other coarse grains and vegetables.
However, folic acid in food is not stable, sensitive to heat, and easily destroyed during cooking, with a loss rate of up to 50% -90%, making it difficult to meet the standard of 0.4 milligrams per day required during pregnancy. So, dietary supplements cannot replace folic acid supplements.
How to choose folic acid supplements?
In terms of categories, folate can be divided into active folate and synthetic folate.
After synthetic folic acid enters the human body, it cannot be directly put into use. But it needs to go through multiple transformation steps in the body to ultimately transform into 5-methyltetrahydrofolate that can be absorbed by the human body. And the active folate is directly 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, which can bypass the folate metabolism and be directly absorbed and utilized by the human body. Therefore, patients with folate metabolism disorders can also absorb and utilize it well.
Therefore, it is recommended to choose medically active folate during pregnancy that can be directly absorbed and utilized by the human body, without metabolism, and can enter the folate cycle directly. It is the best choice for pregnant mothers and babies!