Folic Acid

Folic acid, or also known as folate when within the body, comes from the B vitamin and helps the body make healthy red blood cells as well as being used to help maintain and produce other cells in the body. It is also an important nutrient whilst pregnant as it helps babies to develop. However, our bodies cannot naturally produce folic acid, which is why it’s important we include folic acid tablets into our lifestyles or include this with the food we eat.

What foods contain folic acid?
Folic acid can be found in a range of foods including:
- Leafy greens
- Broccoli
- Nuts and seeds
- Dried fruit
- Fortified breakfast cereals
- Chicken, pork and shellfish
It is for this reason that folic acid tablets for pregnancy are important as a mother requires higher levels of this supplement to ensure her baby has healthy development and including additional folic acid in your diet can be challenging and so tablets make up for this. Consume additional folic acid when trying to conceive as well as when in the early stages of pregnancy (first 12 weeks). You can find many pregnancy vitamins and conception pills which contain this, as well as many other vitamins such as vitamin d, iron, omega 3 which are good for preparing your body for pregnancy as well as supporting healthy development of the foetus. It is recommended pregnant women have 400mg of folate a day.

Lack of folate
Lack of folic acid can lead to a folate deficiency which can lead to anaemia. Not only preventing iron deficiency too, folic acid tablets can help with the normal functioning of the immune system and help with blood formation and reducing tiredness and fatigue.