Eat Healthy, Live Healthy| Folic Acid and Health
Folic Acid
Folic acid is another name for vitamin B-9. Health benefits include prevention of stroke, heart problems, birth defects during pregnancy and cancer. It also helps strengthen cells, strengthen muscles, relieve mental and emotional disorders and to form hemoglobin.
Symptoms of Folic Acid Deficiency
Folic acid deficiency symptoms include anemia, memory loss, restricted nerve and brain development, weakness, sore tongue, paranoia, and skin breakdown.
Health Benefits of Folic Acid
Treats Mental Disorders
Folic acid is used to treat various emotional and mental disorders. For example, it can be used to treat depression and anxiety.
Improves Heart Health
Folic acid is an important tool to improve human heart function. Homocysteine is the major component of the early age heart attack that can be reduced by using folic acid.
Reduces Risk of Cancer
Folic acid is an important part of reducing the incidence of human cancer. It helps to eradicate various forms of cancer risk including colon cancer, lung cancer and cervical cancer from the human body.
Strokes Prevention
Homocysteine is also responsible for stroke, which is a fatal brain event. Folic acid can reduce the production of homocysteine.
Birth Defects Prevention
Congenital malformations caused by defects include neural tube defects. Therefore, effective folic acid increases the chances of giving birth to healthy and happy children.
Coenzyme Activity
Folic acid is a coenzyme that is important for the enzymes to work more effectively and this will aid in the production of enzymatic products in the body like DNA formation.
Builds Muscles
Folic acid is considered to be an integral part of muscle formation because it contributes to the maintenance and growth of muscle tissue.
Increases Hemoglobin Level
Folic acid is responsible for increasing hemoglobin levels in the human body. Hemoglobin is an important component that helps transfer oxygen to cells and organs that require it to function properly.
Foods Enrichen with Folic Acid
A healthy adult should take about 400 micrograms of folic acid. Pregnant and lactating women should take 600 micrograms and 500 micrograms, respectively. Here, I share folic acid-enriched foods:
Green Leafy vegetables
A cup of green leafy vegetables contains 263 micrograms of folic acid.
Asparagus
A cup of boiled asparagus can provide 262 micrograms of folic acid.
Lentils
A cup of lentils contains 358 micrograms of folic acid.
Avocado
Avocado, also known as butter pear, contains up to 110 micrograms of folic acid per cup, accounting for approximately 28% of daily requirements.
Okra
Only half a cup of cooked okra will give you about 103 micrograms of folic acid.
