Folate before Its Too Late

Folate before Its Too Late

Folate is a B vitamin found in some foods and added to many vitamin and mineral supplements as folic acid, a synthetic form of folate. It is important to take folate prior to and in the first weeks of pregnancy for it can reduce the risk of serious and common birth defects called neural tube defects, which affect the brain and spinal cord.

It’s potential to reduce the risk of neural tube defects is so significant that the Food and Drug Administration requires food manufacturers to fortify grain products with folic acid. Here’s a list of foods that provide this important vitamin:

Chicken liver
Breakfast cereals
Braised beef liver
Lentils, cooked
Chickpeas
Asparagus
Spinach, cooked
Black beans
Burrito with beans
Pasta
Kidney beans
Cereal bars
Baked beans with pork
Lima beans
White rice, cooked
Tomato juice
Brussels sprouts
Orange
Broccoli, cooked
Fast-food French fries (large order)
Wheat germ
Fortified white bread