Folic Acid versus Methylfolate

Folic acid is commonly recommended during pregnancy. This is because of the vast amount of scientific studies indicating that folic acid supplementation greatly reduces the neural tube defects in babies. Neural tube defects are birth defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord.

Staggeringly it has been estimated that there are between 700 and 900 pregnancies affected by neural tube defects each year in the UK.

This may be due to women not following the recommendations of folic acid supplementation or dismissing the importance of the pre-conceptual period and starting the supplementation too late into their pregnancy or due to MTHRH gene mutation (MTHRH gene produces enzyme that is needed for our body to properly metabolize folic acid).

Here are some facts:

What is the difference between folate, folic acid and L-methylfolate?

Folate…

Folate is a natural form of vitamin B9 which occurs naturally in;

• Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts, oranges, avocados, lentils, beans, chickpeas

Folic Acid…

Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate, which can be taken in the form of supplement.

Folic Acid is less protective if our body can’t convert folic acid or folate into its active form. This can happen in people with an MTHFR gene mutation (I know mutation sounds scary!), which means that their body cannot break folic acid down to its bio-available form very efficiently.

Methylfolate…

Methylfolate is also a synthetic form of folate, however it is already broken down (to its bioavailable form), and therefore may be more suitable for those who lack the ability to break down folic acid efficiently due to gene mutation.

Summary

Whether you have MTHFR mutation or not – it’s a good idea eat more folate rich foods such as  green leafy veg, beans and lentils. Folate rich foods naturally contain the active form of folate. The more natural form of folate in your diet the more opportunity to create more active form.

I used the following supplement during my pregnancy Pregna-Plan – it is suitable for vegans and contains folic acid in the form of Methylfolate.