In the UK and Ireland in the s, before women were advised to a take folic acid supplements, about 1 in pregnancies resulted in a baby with a neural tube defect.
If you're taking folic acid with methotrexate, talk to your doctor before taking any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or aspirin. It's best to avoid drinking alcohol with folic acid as alcohol may stop folic acid being absorbed. It's safer not to drink any alcohol if you're pregnant or trying for a baby because it can damage your baby's growth.
Folic acid does not help you get pregnant, but it's recommended while you're trying for a baby and in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Page last reviewed: 27 March Next review due: 27 March Folic acid On this page About folic acid Key facts Who can and can't take folic acid How and when to take it Side effects How to cope with side effects Pregnancy and breastfeeding Cautions with other medicines Common questions.
About folic acid Folic acid is the man-made version of the vitamin folate also known as vitamin B9. Folate helps the body make healthy red blood cells and is found in certain foods.
Folic acid is used to: treat or prevent folate deficiency anaemia help your unborn baby's brain, skull and spinal cord develop properly to avoid development problems called neural tube defects such as spina bifida help reduce side effects from methotrexate, a medicine used to treat severe arthritis , Crohn's disease or psoriasis Folic acid is available on prescription and comes as tablets or as a liquid you swallow.
You can also buy lower dose tablets from pharmacies and supermarkets. Folic acid can also be combined with: ferrous fumarate and ferrous sulphate to treat iron deficiency anaemia other vitamins and minerals as a multivitamin and mineral supplement. You usually take folic acid once a day, but sometimes you only need to take it once a week. Most adults and children can take folic acid.
If you're pregnant or trying for a baby, it's recommended you take folic acid until you're 12 weeks pregnant. It helps your baby grow normally. You're unlikely to get side effects with folic acid, but some people feel sick, lose their appetite, get wind or feel bloated.
These side effects are usually mild and do not last long. Folic acid is also called by the brand names Preconceive and Lexpex. It's not suitable for everyone.
How much will I take? How much you take depends on why you need folic acid. Before and during early pregnancy The usual dose for most women trying to get pregnant and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is micrograms, taken once a day. Folate deficiency anaemia To treat anaemia, the usual dose for adults and children over 1 year old is 5mg, taken once a day, for 4 months.
Sometimes the dose may be increased to 15mg a day. This depends on your age, diet and any other health conditions you may have. If you're taking methotrexate The usual dose for adults and children is 5mg once a week, on a different day of the week to your methotrexate.
Some people take 1mg to 5mg once a day, apart from the day when they have their methotrexate. How to take it You can take folic acid with or without food. Swallow the tablets whole with a drink. Will my dose go up or down? Usually your dose will stay the same. What if I forget to take it?
If you stop taking your folic acid: in pregnancy - the risk of your baby having neural tube defects may increase for folate deficiency anaemia - your symptoms may get worse or new symptoms may appear to reduce the side effects of methotrexate - you'll be more likely to get side effects from methotrexate If you forget to take folic acid: once a day - take your missed dose as soon as you remember.
If it's nearly time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and just take your next dose as normal. If you remember on the day you take your methotrexate, wait a day and take your missed dose the following day. After this, go back to taking your weekly dose on your usual day.
This is concerning because high blood levels of UMFA appear to be linked to various health concerns 1 , 8 , 9 , 10 , Because folic acid is more readily absorbed than folate from food, the Food and Nutrition Board FNB at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have developed dietary folate equivalents DFEs to set clearer folate intake recommendations 1.
However, the National Institutes of Health NIH recommends that adults over the age of 19 limit their intake of folic acid from fortified foods and supplements to 1, mcg per day.
The UL for children is even less, ranging from — mcg depending on age Your body absorbs folic acid from fortified foods and supplements easier than it absorbs naturally occurring folate from foods. Getting too much folic acid can cause unmetabolized folic acid UMFA to build up in your body, which might harm health. Your body uses vitamin B12 to make red blood cells and keep your heart, brain, and nervous system functioning optimally If left untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to irreversible nerve damage, which makes a delayed diagnosis particularly worrisome Your body uses folate and vitamin B12 similarly, meaning that a deficiency in either can cause similar symptoms.
For this reason, folic acid supplements may mask vitamin-Binduced megaloblastic anemia and cause an underlying vitamin B12 deficiency to go undetected 14 , 15 , Megaloblastic anemia is a condition characterized by enlarged red blood cells. It can cause symptoms like weakness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and shortness of breath 14 , If you take folic acid supplements and recognize any of these symptoms, consider getting your B12 levels checked.
High intakes of folic acid may mask a vitamin B12 deficiency. In turn, this could increase your risk of brain and nervous system damage. Excess folic acid intake may speed age-related mental decline, particularly in people with low vitamin B12 levels. One study in people over the age of 60 linked high blood levels of folate or UMFA to mental decline in those with low vitamin B12 levels. This link was not seen in those with normal B12 levels Another study suggested that people with high folate and low vitamin B12 levels may be up to 3.
However, keep in mind that more studies are needed before it can be said with certainty that supplementing with high amounts of folic acid could be detrimental to mental health. Also, make sure the pills have not expired. If the bottle has no expiration date, do not buy it. Ask your pharmacist for help with selecting a vitamin or folic acid-only pill. If you are pregnant and already take a daily prenatal vitamin, you probably get all the folic acid you need. Check the label to be sure.
Check the "Supplement Facts" label to be sure you are getting to micrograms mcg of folic acid. Yes, many people get enough folic acid from food alone. Some foods have high amounts of folic acid. Some women, especially women who could get pregnant, may not get enough folic acid from food. African-American women and Mexican Americans are also at higher risk for not getting enough folic acid each day.
Talk to your doctor or nurse about whether you should take a vitamin to get the micrograms of folic acid you need each day. Folate-deficiency anemia is a type of anemia that happens when you do not get enough folate. Folate-deficiency anemia is most common during pregnancy. Other causes of folate-deficiency anemia include alcoholism and certain medicines to treat seizures, anxiety, or arthritis. If you have folate-deficiency anemia, your doctor may recommend taking folic acid vitamins and eating more foods with folate.
Yes, you can get too much folic acid, but only from man-made products such as multivitamins and fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals. You can't get too much from foods that naturally contain folate. You should not get more than 1, micrograms of folic acid a day, unless your doctor prescribes a higher amount. Too much folic acid can hide signs that you lack vitamin B12, which can cause nerve damage. Women who have gone through menopause still need micrograms of folic acid every day for good health.
Talk to your doctor or nurse about how much folic acid you need. Under the Affordable Care Act the health care law , all Health Insurance Marketplace plans and most other insurance plans cover folic acid pills for women who could get pregnant at no cost to you. Check with your insurance provider to find out what's included in your plan. For more information about folic acid, call the OWH Helpline at or contact the following organizations:.
Department of Health and Human Services. ET closed on federal holidays. Breadcrumb Home A-Z health topics Folic acid. Folic acid.
Folic acid Folic acid is a form of folate a B vitamin that everyone needs. What are folic acid and folate? Why do women need folic acid? Everyone needs folic acid to be healthy.
But it is especially important for women: Before and during pregnancy. Folic acid protects unborn children against serious birth defects called neural tube defects.
These birth defects happen in the first few weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. Folic acid might also help prevent other types of birth defects and early pregnancy loss miscarriage.
Since about half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned 1 , experts recommend all women get enough folic acid even if you are not trying to get pregnant. Unfortunately, so does cancer. And since cancer cells multiply very quickly, they have a greater requirement for folic acid. This suggests that as far as a link between cancer and folic acid goes, dosage may be very important.
We want to make sure that our body is well supplied with the amount of folic acid needed for all the essential biochemical reactions, but we also want to guard against furnishing cancer cells with the dose they need to proliferate. Indeed, methotrexate, one of the medications used in cancer treatment works by blocking the conversion of folic acid into tetrahydrofolate, the active form of the vitamin.
Folic acid is especially critical in the earliest stages of development. Birth defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, a tragic condition in which the brain has not properly formed, can be caused by a deficiency in folic acid. This fortification program has worked remarkably well, with birth defects attributed to folic acid deficiency having being significantly reduced.
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