How much folate?

[shaylynn]

I am trying to figure out how much folate I should be taking daily. I also am confused with folic acid/folate and mg/mcg dosing. My current b complex vitamin says the Folate is 400 mcg. Is this sufficient?

[wedgewood]

Yes, 400mcg is a satisfactory amount to

supplement . Folate is what Vitamin B9 is called when it is found naturally in vegetables and fruit . It’s a good way to take B9 because of all the other nutrients you benefit from when you eat vegetables and fruit . Good sources of folate occur in leafy green vegetables, peas etc Citrus fruits are a good source in fruits .

When produced in a laboratory for supplementation , vitamin B9 is called folic acid .

1 mg ( milligram ) = 1,000 mcg ( microgram)

Best wishes to you .

[shaylynn in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you so much! You have made things clear and eased my mind.

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to shaylynn]

Hi shaylynn you may also find folic acid "fortified" into some breakfast cereals (as well as Vitamin B12) if look down the side of the packet

[shaylynn in reply to wedgewood]

I also wanted to add that I am still injecting every other day. Does that make a difference on how many mcg I should be taking?

[wedgewood in reply to shaylynn]

400 mcg is a fine amount . You will do well with that . 👍

[fbirder]

There are lots of different chemicals that the body needs with a very similar structure, with names like methyltetrahydrofolate and N-formyltetrahydrofolate. The chemical that they are all based on is called folic acid, which biologists insist on calling folate (the also insist on calling citric acid - citrate, acetic acid - acetate, etc). The whole class of chemicals are called 'folates'.

All these different folates can be easily changed into the other forms. When doctors do blood tests they don't want to do a separate test for all the different type, so they develop tests that detect all the different types of folate and give a single result.

The NHS recommends 200 mcg (0.2 mg) of folate per day for most people and 400 mcg a day for women aiming to become pregnant. Other bodies, like the USA's NIH, recommend 400 mcg a day for all women of childbearing potential. Those amounts include folate in food (which will be a mixture of all the different folates) plus folate in supplements (normally folic acid). So if you eat a folate rich diet then you don't need as much in supplements.

However, there's no proven harm in taking small (less that 1000 mcg a day) doses of folate. So many people take 400 mcg a day supplements.