Women who are pregnant or are trying to become pregnant should make sure they are getting enough folate/folic acid in their diet. It is recommended that pregnant women get 400-800 mcg of folic acid per day. Folic acid helps to prevent miscarriage and birth defects. Folic acid can be taken in a supplement, like a prenatal vitamin, and there are also lots of ways to get folate through food. Foods that are high in folate are broccoli, spinach, lettuce, asparagus, okra, lemons, bananas, melons, yeast, beans, mushrooms, kidney, beef liver, eggs, tomato juice, and orange juice.
Folate isn’t just for pregnant women. Folate is important for everyone and can be used for memory loss, osteoporosis, depression, hearing loss related to age, sleep problems, and muscle pain just to name a few. Adults should be getting 400 mcg per day, or more if folic acid is being used as a treatment for something.