Folate brand

[Espeegee]

I'm going to start taking Folate, any recommendations for a brand or strength please? Last folate result was:

Serum Folate

19.10 range 8.83-60.8

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Are you already on a good B complex?

[Espeegee in reply to TiggerMe]

Yes

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to Espeegee]

Best not to take more than 400mcg per day so look to top up whatever the short fall is... your folate level isn't bad

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Espeegee]

You can buy any methylfolate of 400mcgs but Jarrows do one thats nice.

I've bought cheaper brands from Amazon and all seem to have worked fine. The Vegavero one is good value at 120 for £13.90.

[helvella Administrator]

Why?

As far as I understand, there is no benefit to reaching high in range.

Home > Health Information > Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets > Folate > Folate - Health Professional

Folate

Fact Sheet for Health Professionals

ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/F...

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to helvella]

With those results the OP is only 20% through range. Should be well above 50%.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Jaydee1507]

Why?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to helvella]

Why do we need any vitamin at optimal level. For best use of thyroid hormone.

Symptoms of low vitamin levels can occur within the reference range.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Jaydee1507]

However, the upper limits to folate ranges are frequently recently added. Time was most were simply "greater than" a number. Hence the only interpretation that was really possible was sufficiently over the lower limit to be quite sure of the result and no upper bound.

I suspect one reason for these upper limits being instituted was to serve as an indication that too much is actually possible. Otherwise people can assume that be the result ever so high, there is still no problem.

Both here and over on Pernicious Anaemia Society forum, we have seen members having issues with high intakes (typically 5 milligrams a day, but sometimes taken every other day or whatever).

There are issues with unmetabolized folic acid levels.

Hence the suggestion of a tolerable upper limit of 800 micrograms a day in adults. And a recommended allowance of 400 micrograms a day.

Not a target of half way to the upper limit.

Note, there is no limit to folate as an intrinsic constituent of food.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to helvella]

Speaking for myself I only felt a difference with taking a folate supplement when it was 1,000mcgs. Turned out I do have MTHFR genes which are pretty common.

I dont think I've seen anyone here ever suggest a dose of 5mgs folic acid and folic acid is never recommended as methylfolate is preferable.

With the older, lower reference range members always say they feel better when their level was towards the top of the range around 20.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Jaydee1507]

Not so much that it is suggested people take 5 milligrams a day as that some people are prescribed 5 milligrams a day by their doctors. And suffer.

Even if people end up over the upper tolerable intake, I would still go via slowly incrementing intake and whether that is having a beneficial effect rather than targetting 50%.

[Spoticus in reply to helvella]

Apologies for jumping on someone’s post but my daughter has just been put on 5mg folic acid as the Gp said her blood test came back so low that it didn’t register ? . She wants her to take a high dose to increase it Quickly. What would you recommend that would be gentle on her tummy as she’s been unwell & so depressed with it all . She can do without the Cure causing another problem! .

[helvella Administrator in reply to Spoticus]

That is a special case beyond what I feel comfortable answering.

See the reply by RedApple : healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[janeroar in reply to helvella]

Interesting what you say Helvella. What are the symptoms of too much folate?

[Carrie234 in reply to helvella]

This is so interesting helvella. So in my case, with a folate of 3 micro g /L (range 3-25), would you say anything over 3 is OK? I just learned yesterday about UMFA (unmetabolised folic acid) and how it can cause problems. I do not understand how it all works at all. What I do know is that I cannot tolerate any amount of supplements of any type of folate whatsoever. Does my body just function better on a low folate blood level, I wonder, or should I be aiming to get it up to around 14 ... . I've been increasing folate foods which is good/fine, but the whole topic is something I would like to understand better. [sorry to butt in on this post!]

[helvella Administrator in reply to Carrie234]

No - I think you are so low that the most minute imperfection (e.g. test not quite right, blood draw at point of day where folate is at its highest,, etc.) could mean you are low. And we always have the issue of that lower end being set too low - just as with things like the Free t4 range.

But, if all supplemental forms cause problems, then try to increase "natural" dietary intake still further. That is, where the folate is inherent and not added during processing.

[Carrie234 in reply to helvella]

thank you helvella

[Espeegee in reply to Carrie234]

Don't worry about joining in, I'm on the "how does this all work" step. I've read a lot around hypothyroidism, pernicious anaemia, what makes your body work in the best way but after a while when that is being broken down into areas like mitochondria, creatinine, gut biome etc. I get they should all work synergistically and if they don't that's when the problems start but threading them all together, including what you should take and when and how much and how long for etc. just results in my sinking under all the info. I want my body to work in the way nature intended, it doesn't and all my attempts to sort it out myself, because GPs are not on the same page are they, have not had any staggering improvements. I'm still overweight, I still get tired etc etc. and I'm still popping supplements in the hope that one day the magic pill will turn up and turn this round for me. I've seen a lot of useful info here and I've used some of it to good effect, not least the private testing of which I had no idea before.

[RedApple Administrator in reply to helvella]

According to the BDA: '(* You may need to take 5 milligrams/day of folic acid preconception and up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, if you have had a pregnancy previously affected by neural tube defects, if you have diabetes, if you are living with obesity, or take anti-epilepsy medication. Ask your doctor as this will need to be provided on prescription.)

bda.uk.com/resource/folic-a...

[helvella Administrator in reply to RedApple]

Yes - there are circumstances in which it might be right.

The context for problems that I have seen is people with B12 deficiency being told the MUST take 5 milligrams for folic acid for the simple reason that they are injecting B12. And to do so indefinitely.

On the basis that injecting B12 is intended simply to rectify a deficiency, this large increase (over, say, 400 to 800 micrograms) seems difficult to justify, to explain. Though adequacy of folate is vital.

[Espeegee in reply to helvella]

Why? Because whenever I have posted test results it has been suggested that the level is too low and I should suppplemwnt.

[RedApple Administrator in reply to Espeegee]

Just eat more spinach! (Other green leafy veg are available ) 🥬 bda.uk.com/resource/folic-a...

[Espeegee in reply to RedApple]

I've just looked at the list of folate foods, I eat eggs almost every day, I eat spinach occasionally, I eat asparagus and even liver but not often. Things like brussel sprouts are seasonal of course, I love them but they're not available all year round. I eat 2-3 avocados and wholemeal bread most days.

[Doris11]

Gosh mine was 3!

[Katherine1234]

I have always felt better when my folate is near top of the range. I do however take regularly B12 injections that use up folate pretty quickly. I would not touch folic acid. I feel bad on it. I also have to watch as certain foods they add fake folic acid too. I take high dose 5000 mcg of folate, every day when I was injecting B12. I also take Jarrows B Rights daily, which is a B complex Now I take high dose folate 3 or 4 times a week. I could never get mine over 8. It is back up to 17/18 which I do fine on. My lab uses 24 as top of the range. Interesting that low folate can cause paranoid symptoms, depression and panic attacks.

[SilverSavvy]

I absolutely can' take folic acid and it is a constant battle to get my folate up a bit. But I agree, taking too much in a B complex has also given me problems. So I use BioCare Methylfolguard which is pre-methylated and I can decide the dose better myself which seems to help.

[CoeliacMum1]

I’ve had low folate a few times over the years and my GP ordered a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) and prescribed folic acid (synthetic) and I was referred to dietitian as I have coeliac disease and pernicious anemia and both GP & dietitian seemed to have heard about the cancer risk of excessive folic acid supplementation. I spoke to an online Dr who was talking about this on a post many years ago, she also mentioned this also as I was considering upping the prescribed dose as mines always low . I was told this area of cancer is more prevalent as we age, getting too much folic acid can wake up:exacerbate dormant cancer cells… it’s an area which needs much more attention and studies as it was inconclusive wbavk when reading about it and will add only folic acid was mentioned, not Methylfolate.

I guess look up these findings and make an informed decision for yourself but many healthcare professionals don’t seem concerned at levels, just treat deficiencies, I honestly not looked into this anymore so new evidence maybe around now on this subject.

I thought better to just let people know my situation on the subject but this was 5yrs ago.

I know alcohol use cooking methods deplete our levels of folate and obviously not eating enough… most gluten containing food are fortified eg flour cereals but gluten free flour etc isn’t and these nutrients and others often get overlooked when go on these exclusion diet eg gluten free…. We must remember what we take out we need to replace … people are easy to say to remove this that and the other out just because the protein in these foods maybe bothersome for some, but forget the fibre, minerals and vitamins they contain is also being removed.

[dunestar]

I take Purolabs Puro Folate which is 400mcg of methyltetrahydrofolic acid. My folate level was low (but still in range) a while ago and I felt awful. My default reaction to anything was "I can't be bothered". On a couple of occasions I felt I was running on completely empty. I don't take a Vitamin B complex as I'm worried about the niacin element and I can't find a brand without niacin. My current folate level is still below yours but I feel OK.

[Espeegee]

I've just read through this, it's quite informative too: nutritionsource.hsph.harvar...