Top 10 Foods High in Folate

The best foods rich in folate

Folate belongs to the B vitamin family and is one of the most important for pregnancy. Without this vitamin, the baby can develop a cleft palate, a condition where both the roof of the mouth and the lip do not form correctly, or other neural anomalies such as spina bifida…

What does folate do in the body?

Folate is a natural form of folic acid. In the body, this vitamin is used in the regulation of the DNA process. When DNA regulation is impaired, the health issues that arise are behavioral, neurological, learning, and memory-related. Folate deficiency is linked to abnormal brain development, learning, and memory. In an animal study, folic acid deficiency caused high levels of fear in animals deprived of this vitamin in their diet for just three weeks.

Folate also has other functions, such as the production of red blood cells, tissue growth, and cellular work. The metabolism of this B vitamin affects ovarian function and is related to the implantation of the egg in the uterus as well as the development of the embryo. Deficiency causes about 20% fewer eggs that can be fertilized and leads to infertility. A miscarriage may be due to a folate deficiency.

Folate deficiency is also linked to inflammation, heart disease, and cancer.

Folate works together with other B vitamins, especially B12 and vitamin B6, to prevent heart attacks and heart disease. When levels of this vitamin are low, levels of a substance called homocysteine in the body, in the plasma, rise. Once this happens, the person develops an inability to concentrate and remember information. The deficiency also increases inflammation in the body and causes depression.

New research from Chinese scientists has shown that folate deficiency can cause changes in a protein that lead to slow growth of brain tumors.

Doctors in China wanted to see if adding a food to the diet of pregnant women would be enough to raise folate levels and thus prevent the malformation of cleft lip. They chose milk, and indeed this worked.

Women who drank milk every day had children who were born at term and had better weight and height than those whose mothers did not. Milk increases the concentration of folate in the blood at weeks 16 and 32 when this folate assessment was made. Interestingly, milk is not particularly a folate-rich food as it only contains 12 mcg per cup.

How much folate is needed daily?

Daily folate needs depend on whether one is an adult, child, or pregnant or lactating. Up to one year of age, the recommended daily allowance is 65-80 mcg; up to 3 years of age, the amount doubles to 150 mcg. After 14 years, the RDA rises to 400 mcg and remains there for men or women who are not pregnant.

Folate needs increase to 600 mcg daily for pregnant women and decrease to 500 mcg daily for those who are breastfeeding. Most supplements contain 800 mcg or more for pregnant women. Individual supplements of 1.2 mg or more can be found on the market, suitable for those who have folate deficiency.

Top 10 Foods High in Folate

(source: USDA database)

1 Lentils, cooked 1 cup- 70g 358 mcg

2 Black-eyed peas 1 cup-240g 356 mcg

3 Pinto beans 1 cup- 200g 294 mcg

4 Cooked spinach 1 cup-180g 262 mcg

5 Black beans 1 cup-200g 256 mcg

6 Cooked liver 85 g 215 mcg

7 Chickpeas 1 cup- 220g 172 mcg

8 Cooked broccoli 1 cup-180g 168 mcg

9 Mango 1 cup-165g 145 mcg

10 Cooked beetroot 1 cup-180g 136 mcg

And I leave you 13 more to make delicious daily meals
11 Papaya 1 108 mcg
12 White rice ½ cup-100 g 90 mcg
13 Asparagus 4 spears 89 mcg
14 Peanuts ¼ cup-38g 82 mcg
15 Sunflower seeds ¼ cup-30g 82 mcg
16 Okra 1 cup 74 mcg
17 Romaine lettuce 1 cup-40g 64 mcg
18 Kale 1 cup-60g 60 mcg
19 Raw spinach 1 cup-60g 58 mcg
20 Orange 1 medium 40 mcg
21 Cooked salmon 85 g 30 mcg
22 Grapefruit 1 20 mcg
23 Egg 1 22 mcg
Measurement equivalence: 1 large cup: 250 cc- 250 ml- ¼ liter- 2.5 dl- 16 tablespoons

Using this list of folate-rich foods, you can easily consume 800 mcg per day to start stocking your pantry. For example, a daily menu that meets the expectation:

Breakfast: oatmeal with papaya, milk, hard-boiled egg (164 mcg)
Snack: Orange (40 mcg)
Lunch: liver, kale, rice, beans, mango (655 mcg – considering the portions)
Snack: peanuts (82 mcg)
Dinner: salmon, potatoes, broccoli, salad, dessert (287 mcg)

Total in one day: 1228 mcg of folate

You can consume a good amount of folate in a healthy diet! Try it and see how you feel!

Sources:
Tomizawa, H., et al. Methyl donor deficiency in adolescence affects memory and epigenetic status in the mouse hippocampus. Genes Brain Behav 2015 Feb 19. Epub ahead of print. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25704122
Li, W., et al. Folic acid inhibits tau phosphorylation through regulation of PP2A methylation in SH-SY5Y cells. J Nutr Health Aging 2015 Feb; 19(2): 123-9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25651436

Li, Y.F., et al. Effect of daily milk supplementation on serum and umbilical cord blood folic acid concentrations in pregnant Han and Mongolian women and birth characteristics in China. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2014; 23(4):567-74. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25516314

Thaler, C.J. Folate metabolism and human reproduction. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2014 Sep; 74(6): 845-851. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25278626

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/folic-acid-foods/

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/