Editor’s Note:  Cara has done extensive research on how nutrition relates to disability, has used the GAPS diet protocols successfully with her own family, and strives to break down healthy habits into easy-to-accomplish changes for the average busy family. She uncovered the overlooked difference between folic acid and natural folate while doing research on the MTHFR gene mutation, and is alarmed that this isn’t more widely discussed especially in prenatal consultations.
Today she shares how 20-40% of our population does not produce enough of the enzyme needed to break down the synthetic folic acid found in supplements and fortified foods like boxed breakfast cereal and how its presence in the modern diet is likely contributing to many of our modern diseases. Just about every pregnant woman is told to supplement with synthetic folic acid rather than the natural form folate. This is alarming and is impacting the health of the generation of children being born right now.
I would encourage you to read and consider this information very carefully!
….
As a mom of a child who has struggled with disability (see our story about GAPS and Autism here), I’ve made it a priority to be proactive when it comes to my children’s health, and I have seen their health blossom because of it. I carefully research nutrition in pregnancy, make it a priority to avoid genetically modified foods and the dirty dozen, insist that my children take cod liver oil, and even start my babies on liver as a first food.
One little nutrient slipped by me until recently, though, and I’m kicking myself now.
Folate
That nutrient was folate. Folate, vitamin B9, is a water-soluble vitamin used in just about every process in the body. It breaks down, builds, and uses proteins. It’s used in red blood cell production, DNA synthesis, and many more functions. Lack of it in pregnancy leads to neural tube defects including spina bifida and anencephaly. Lack of it in childhood and adulthood leads to growth problems, neurological problems, anemia, low white blood cell count, and more. (source)
Folate is naturally found in high amounts in leafy greens, seaweed, sunflower seeds, chicken liver, calf liver, leeks, and peppers. (source)
See, I thought I was safe because, in addition to eating food daily that contained natural folate, as listed above, I also was taking a prenatal vitamin to make sure I wasn’t missing any. But I was wrong.
But I’m taking Folic acid, so I don’t have to worry about this, right?
Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate. It is true that most of the medical community uses the terms folate and folic acid interchangeably, but they enter the metabolic cycle in different ways, and natural folate is easier for the body to access than the cheap synthetic version folic acid (source).
When people have the MTHFR gene mutation, they do not turn folic acid into folate. In addition, the folic acid plugs the receptor sites in cells with an unusable form for these people. With the unusable folic acid in the receptor sites, the body is prevented from being able to use the folate that they do consume through natural food.
What is MTHFR?
MTHFR (yes, I hear a curse word every time I read that too) is a gene mutation that is relatively common (source) and is common among people on the autistic spectrum (source). When people have this gene mutation, they do not produce the amount of the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase needed to adequately convert folic acid into the form of folate that can enter the main folate metabolic cycle.
Why is Folic acid bad?
So many people are taught that taking an excess of water-soluble vitamins isn’t a bad thing. This is because it will just be excreted in the urine if not needed. This is not the case with folic acid. If a person cannot process folic acid into usable folate, the folic acid ends up in the bloodstream where it hogs the receptor sites on cells where folate is needed (source).
When unusable folic acid is taking up the receptor sites where real folate is needed, a folate deficiency occurs and the following can happen:
- Neural tube defects
- Recurrent miscarriage
- Midline defects including tongue-tie
- Neurological problems
- Anxiety (many people don’t realize they have anxiety until starting folate and having it go way down)
- Growth problems
- Thyroid problems
- Anemia
- And more
In addition, this excess folic acid has been linked to:
Where is Folic acid found? How can I avoid it?
Good news! Since folic acid is synthetic and made in a lab, it is never found in natural, whole foods. The foods that are fortified are:
- processed cereals
- commercial flour
- other grain-based processed foods
- supplements including multivitamins
- prenatals
So if we are eating all homemade foods, only use home ground flour and oats that are not fortified, we can avoid it by also avoiding supplements that contain it.
But wait! Â My doctor says Folic acid is important to take
Doctors often use the terms ‘folic acid’ and ‘folate’ interchangeably. As discussed above, they are not interchangeable, just as margarine and butter are not interchangeable when studying the effect of saturated fat on heart disease.
If your doctor is open to it, I recommend starting a dialogue about the research you have been doing on how folic acid is not as easily absorbed by many people, and that you are switching to folate or discontinuing additional folic acid supplementation.
Who knows, maybe your doctor will be inspired to research and will change the standard recommendation.
In any case, it is very unlikely that your doctor will prefer you to take folic acid over folate, it is much more common that he or she will just insist that there is no difference.
What can I do?
I did these simple steps for my family upon reading about MTHFR and folate.
- Toss any fortified food in your house. Now!
- Toss any supplement containing folic acid.
- If you feel that you need to supplement with folate, choose a supplement with real folate or methyl folate (I take this one and I give my kids this one – I see lowered anxiety in myself with it, as well as increase in focus and energy, it’s too soon for me to be able to tell if it’s helping the kids yet).
- Diligently watch labels of all supplements for folic acid and avoid.
- Consider getting tested for MTHFR gene mutation so that you know how toxic folic acid really is for you.
- Learn more about supplementing with bio-available folate (you can learn more here). Some people who have been consuming folic acid need to replenish their stores.
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What if your receptors are already blocked by synthetic folic acid? How do you get them unblocked?
Juice plus is a great source of folate. It is all whole food nutrition. They have a great program for kids and it is endorsed by Dr Sears.
Juice plus is highly processed and not a good choice. You can’t just powderize “the best parts” of the fruits and vegetables and expect health. You must eat the whole food as nature intended. There are no shortcuts.
Oh, and I just took a look at the ingredients of the vegetable capsules one … it has folic acid, NOT folate!
http://www.juiceplus.com/content/dam/juiceplus/Uk/437201250_GB_Caps_Vegetable_Label_WEB.pdf What a scam!
Juice Plus ingredient: Gelatine capsules containing
a dried powder blend of juice and pulp
(60%) from (in varying proportions):
carrot, parsley, beet, broccoli (14%) 
a,
kale, cabbage (3%) 
a, tomato (5%) 
a and
spinach; anticaking agents: calcium car
–
bonate, magnesium oxide, magnesium
stearate; thickener: guar gum; beet pow
–
der, vitamin C, Spirulina pacifica, vita
–
min E, garlic powder, Lactobacillus acido
–
philus, beta-carotene, oat bran fibre, rice
bran, folic acid, Dunaliella salina.
I contacted the company as I saw that the new packaging shows Folate and not Folic, and was told that they are changing over the packaging because the capsules are just natural folate. I believe in the US is where they have started it. I would contact them in your country to verify it, however.
Sign the White House Petition to end Mandatory Flour Fortification with Folic Acid linked to Cancer
http://1.usa.gov/1wlovWv
Sarah, please help spread the word. Write a post. Tweet it. Share it on Facebook!
(And thank you!)
choose a supplement with real folate or methyl folate (I take this one and I give my kids this one”
Both links take you to the same supplement? Which one are you actually giving to your kids? thanks.
Hi! Sorry, I give them the b9/b12 lozenges and I take the capsule that has less in it.
Reaction to L-5-MTHF by Designs for Health
I started with 1 mg of folate, and within a couple days I was having arm and leg muscle pain as if I had been working out, which I wasn’t. At day 7 I said “what was the last thing I changed in my life?” voile’ I started taking folate. When I looked up side effect I discovered headaches which I also had were in that list. My Integrative medicine doctor recommended this supplement and dosage as well as CoQ10, which I don’t find side effects matching these. So I have stopped and wonder what I should do now. I have never been affected by supplements over the last 50 years. What say you”?
Which one is the b9/b12 lozenge? The one from the link? I didn’t see the B9 mentioned. The cherry flavored one has 1000 mcg of B12. Is that too much for a ten year old? Maybe you could give the link for the one your kids take? Great article by the way. Thank you.
B9 is folate
Hello! I just found out my 3 year old son has 2 MTHFR genetic mutations and have also been told to supplement specifically with methylfolate. Being the “synthetic” hater that I am, I contacted some companies, including Seeking Health & Holistic Health International and was told that methylfolate is also synthetic (although it is supposed to be the form that is active in the human body). I would LOVE to know if anyone knows of a completely natural form of methylfolate, if one exists. It sounds like it is what my son needs, but using something synthetic makes me nervous. Here are the details sent from a Seeking Health representative:
“The finished product is derived from tetrahydrofolic acid after a series of laboratory reactions, which are designed to mimic the metabolic processes that reduce folic acid within the human body. The end product, (6S)-5-MTHF, is structurally analogous to the predominant form of folate that is active in the human body. The original starting materials used to perform these reactions fall under a confidentiality agreement with the manufacturer, Gnosis, as part of their proprietary process.
Methylfolate is produced naturally by enzymes active in the mammalian digestive and circulatory systems – but extracting methylfolate from a live mammalian source would be prohibitively expensive and unethical – no procedure exists to do so to my knowledge. The only other way to produce methylfolate would be synthetically, using laboratory processes similar to the ones employed by Gnosis.”
Should I be concerned about using it for someone with the MTHFR mutation? From what I read having natural folate is not enough for them.
Thanks in advance for any input you might have!
FOLATE NOT Filter
Hmmmm, interesting. Been trying to get pregnant for 14 months, been taking prenatal since then. I think I will drop it and opt for peppers and avocado. 100g of avocado has 30% of what we need. Pretty goods. If you have never heard of the recipe, crazy sexy kale salad, it would be great for your intake of vitamins and minerals, and it’s delicious. Yesterday was my last day on prenatal, maybe I will get pregnant soon. (I should mention, we went to fertility clinic, and both my husband and I are good to go. Our reason is unknown for getting pregnant.)
Betsy, have you tried cutting out gluten? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard women who could never get pregnant, yet, as soon as they cut out gluten, boom, they got pregnant. Could happen in 2 months, may take longer. Depends on how much damage the gluten has done to your system.
Common, this article reeks of hype…remember, we all have to die so why not just enjoy the short time we all have on this planet without being obsessed and hyped up over something as banal as this… Why don’t you direct your energy to the real problems in this world? Hunger, slavery, homelessness, raping the 3rd world of their resources, invading and killing hundreds of thousands in foreign countries just so you can take your vitamins and play concerned mom on the internet? Where is your outcry over that?
Rron,
Taking folate is not about politics , and saving the world.
Is there a source for
“the folic acid plugs the receptor sites in cells with an unusable form for these people. With the unusable folic acid in the receptor cites, the body is prevented from being able to use the folate that they do consume through natural food.”
i think you forget to mention that those of us with MTHFR mutation should not take a supplement folate by mouth either, but should be very aware and take 5MTHF or the like.
Your article is interesting to me and I am concerned because I have rheumatory arthritis. My course of treatment from my doctor is methotrexate and folic acid. This treatment has worked well for me regarding my arthritis and I can actually work full time and do what I need to do daily. My concern is what the long term effects of taking the folic acid will cause.