Biofolate 1mg - 30 V-Caps

Folic Acid (or folate)

Folic acid (or folate) is a water-soluble vitamin that plays a key role in the biosynthesis of DNA and RNA, red blood cell production and the metabolization of proteins. Folic acid is also necessary for genome maintenance, the regulation of gene expression, and other functions.

What foods are rich in folates?
Natural folates are found in dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens) as well as oranges, broccoli, cauliflower, liver and brewer's yeast. The absorption efficiency of natural folates is approximately 50% that of supplemental folic acid. This is because natural food folates are pteroylpolyglutamate derivatives. These require cleavage (by an enzyme called folate conjugase) to pteroylmonoglutamate forms prior to absorption from the small intestine.

Why supplement with Folic Acid?
Folic acid (in supplemental form) is already a pteroylmonoglutamate and therefore does not require this process, making it much more efficiently absorbed as a result. When most health practitioners and astute observers of preventative health and nutrition think of folic acid, they refer to the overwhelming amount of research supporting folic acid's ability to prevent neural tube defects. So strong is this evidence, in fact, that even the highly reticent U.S. Food & Drug Administration began enforcing a regulation in 1998 that required all uncooked flour, grain and cereal products to be fortified with folic acid. It is safe to say that nutrient fortification is legislated on a highly reactionary, sporadic and admonitory basis, and for folic acid to achieve this kind of legislative recognition speaks volumes in and of itself.