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Vitamin B9 – Folic Acid

Folic Acid is required for the metabolism of proteins (Amino Acids) just like other B Vitamins. However, it is also critical for tissue growth and cell function, maintaining good heart health and preventing neural defects in newborns.

Although Folate and Folic Acid are often thought of as the same thing, they are not. What the body requires is Folic Acid. The bioavailability of Folate (for the body to convert into Folic Acid) is about half, which means one needs to consume 1mg of folate to end up with 0.5mg of active folic acid. The recommended daily intake for Australia and New Zealand is 400mcg for Folate equivalents (this equates to 200mcg of Folic Acid) with an increase of 25% for lactating and 50% for pregnant women.

Deficiency in pregnant women may lead to birth defects to newborns. Supplementation is therefore often highly recommended during pregnancy.

Although there is no known toxicity for Folic Acid intake levels, it can mask a B12 deficiency. The upper recommended limit is 1,000mcg of Folic Acid.

Good sources are cereals, vegetables and fruit. In particular broccoli, legumes and oranges. GNLD’s Vitamin B Complex provides almost 100% of the RDI for adults and GNLD Formula IV 50% and GNLD Formula IV Plus contains 100% of the RDI for Folic Acid.

Information Sources

As the information above contains common facts that are well established no specific links have been provided for each individual statement above. It will simply suffice to not that information sources include:

1. Australian Government Department of Health: www.health.gov.au
2. The Oxford concise Medical Dictionary (5th edition)
3. Harvard School of Health: www.hsph.harvard.edu
4. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand: www.foodstandards.gov.au
5. Australian National Health and Medical Research Council: www.nhmrc.gov.au
6. Wikipedia – a free web based encyclopedia
7. Super Supplements, Dr. Bruce and Joan Dewe (December 2010 edition)

Vitamin B Complex (Threshold Control) $63.14   1 votes

Formula IV (with Iron) $69.52   0 votes

Formula IV Plus $66.44   0 votes