Folate vs folic acid

[Hambledonia]

Hi, I am confused by the difference between folate and folic acid. I have read many posts suggesting a daily supplement of 400mcg folate but am struggling to find it in health food shops or chemists. Can someone advise please? Although I eat lots of greens I am injecting very regularly so thought I should start supplementing. Thank you!

[wedgewood]

If you eat lots of greens and other folate-rich vegs and fruit ( google );you shouldnt need to supplement with tablets .But if you are uncertain that you are eating enough , take a modest folic acid tablet- say 400mcg .You can get 360 x 400mcg tablets for £8.97 on Amazon.uk . Tablet form is called folic acid . Naturally occurring in fruit and veg it’s called folate . With the fruit and veg you get many other nutrients that you need apart from folate . Best wishes.

[Hambledonia in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you very much. I was unsure of the folate link and thinking I needed to supplement and could only find folic acid. Now I have the answers.

[fbirder]

There are lots of different types of biochemical with a structure similar to that of folic acid. Collectively they are called folates. In the body they are easily converted into one another.

Your diet is probably rich in folates, so you probbaly don’t need to supplement. Injecting B12 doesn’t increase your folate requirements any more than for a normal person.

However, many people like to make sure they have enough. The best supplements to take are probbaly a supermarket brand of folic acid. Just as good as the expensive stuff.

[Hambledonia in reply to fbirder]

Thank you for your reply. You are such a great help on the forum and very interesting to know that injecting more regularly doesn’t increase the need for more folate.

[momindenver]

The methylfolate form is what the body uses. Some people have a mutation in their MTHFR gene, which causes problems with converting folic acid into the active methylfolate form.