5 methylhydrofolate: the right type of folate?

[Noelnoel]

By the way, I mistakenly sent this same post from my daughter’s acct (musicaljune). Please ignore it

I found an old viridian supplement at the back of my cupboards which contains the above amongst other things. I know - or at least I think I know - it’s not the same as folic acid. I’ve been looking it up and find the simple explanations don’t really address the difference and the more scientific explanations just muddle me and don’t get me started on specific companies who only want you to buy the product ...

I still haven’t tested for:

Folate, ferritin, D3 and B12. I have the form and intend to go soon but in any case I suspect ferritin and folate will be low. D3 and B12 I’ve supplemented for a while now, so they should be fine. My daughter’s however are all low and she’s pregnant, so all the more reason to get the right supplement and to understand what it is and why we’re taking it

If anyone fancies giving a tutorial on the right type of folate, I’m a willing student. Or, if this subject is already on this forum, if you could direct me to where, I’d be grateful

[SlowDragon Administrator]

If your daughter is pregnant it’s essential she gets folate and B12 levels tested

[Noelnoel in reply to SlowDragon]

She did and they’re low. Trouble is, it’s all a bit confusing and no point consulting with her GP as because they’re within “normal”range she hasn’t bothered contacting my daughter to suggest she supplements and we know better than to bother making the call

We trying to work out what and how much. She currently takes Viridian pregnant capsules twice a day but I’m nervous that it’s not enough

[galathea]

Folic acid is the synthetic version of methylhydrofolate and needs an extra conversion process once it reaches your gut, so it can be of use. The methyl folate is instantly available and needs no extra process.

Some of us cannot use the folic acid and so ut remains unmetabolised. This can cause other problems.

X

[Noelnoel in reply to galathea]

Good morning galathea

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/244...

Yes but open this. It says: folate, folic acid and 5-methylfolate are not the same thing. Now I know that folic acid isn’t the same because it’s synthetic and there can for some, be a malabsorption problem but what’s with the other two?!!

Thank you though for getting back to me

[humanbean]

You might find this of interest :

chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...

If I was a few decades younger and pregnant or trying to get pregnant I would prefer to take folate rather than folic acid, given what I know now.

[Noelnoel in reply to humanbean]

It’s a very interesting article but I still don’t understand the difference between folate and 5 methylhydrofolate, although it mentions tetrahydrofolate. Perhaps having thyroid issues really does make it difficult to grasp things and I’ll just have to keep reading until I find an explanation that sticks

There’s some scary information in there too about folic acid which I understand and it’s funny isn’t it, how one thing is hailed as the new be all only for years later to learn it’s unsafe. Frightening how clever marketing etc, makes us susceptible and suggestible ...

I also have never understood the relatively recent advice for pregnant women to avoid liver. Generations of pregnant women ate it weekly - me included - to ensure intake of iron. The current advice makes me feel as though I was irresponsible and indulged in a risky practise that could’ve caused damage to my children. They say it’s to prevent over-consumption of vitamin A. Really?!! One portion a week could do that?

Thanks again though for the link. Much food for thought

[humanbean in reply to Noelnoel]

Folate is just a shortened name for 5-methylhydrofolate. If you go to Amazon and search for "folate supplements" most of the products that are found refer to Methylfolate or L-Methylfolate or 5-MTHF. These are the supplements you want.

For example, a folate product picked at random, that I know nothing about :

amazon.co.uk/L-Methylfolate...

It says on the label "Folate (L-Methylfolate)".

Solgar sells folate products with Metafolin in.

Thorne Research sells this :

amazon.co.uk/Thorne-Researc...

which refers to "5-MTHF" and "Methylfolate" and "L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate"

None of the products I've listed say "folic acid" on the label. Folic acid is what you want to avoid. Folate is referred to in multiple ways and any of the products I've listed should be good substitutes for folic acid in theory, but I have no experience of any of the products I've listed.

I also have never understood the relatively recent advice for pregnant women to avoid liver.

I hadn't realised that liver was "forbidden" to pregnant women these days but I gather that women are being warned off because of the vitamin A content.

I don't have a clue how serious the problem really is. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin so presumably the body stores it and it can cause toxicity in high enough doses. But I would also be curious about the ramifications of a deficiency of vitamin A on a pregnant woman and her offspring as compared to an overdose. Which risk is the worst one?

[Noelnoel]

Thank you scrambler.. So what is the difference between 5-methylhydrofolate, folate and tetrahydrofolate and given that folic acid causes problems for some, why is the NHS still promoting its use instead of folate? So frustrating trying to get simple understandable information

[Noelnoel]

Humanbean, I meant to say the Chris Kresser link you sent was interesting, before I went on that rant

[Noelnoel in reply to Noelnoel]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do that humanbean. That's so helpful

Regarding the ramifications of overdose or insufficiency of vit A, I'm not sure actually whether the risk is to the foetus or the mother. I'll take a look

And I've just re-read my post and can't for the life of me fathom how I got from folic acid to vitamin A. I'll delete it before I get a deluge of comments

[humanbean in reply to Noelnoel]

You asked about why women might be warned off liver, which is where the vitamin A came in to the conversation.

Don't worry about editing your posts on the subject. It's a reasonable question.

[galathea]

If you cannot process folic acid, it builds up in the blood and is effectively poison..... it never made my folate levels rise. I have two duff copies of the mthfr c677t gene. I need folate not folic acid.