What’s the difference between folic acid and folate?
There is a distinct difference between folic acid and folate, even though they are often used interchangeably.
Folic Acid vs. Folate
Folate is the?naturally occurring?and metabolically active form of vitamin B9. Folate is naturally present in a wide variety of foods such as liver, dark leafy green vegetables, avocados, legumes, and asparagus.?
Alternatively, folic acid is the?synthetic form?of vitamin B9 found in many multivitamins, fortified foods, and certain pharmaceuticals.?
Your body must convert folic acid to the metabolically active form of folate, L-methylfolate, before your body can use it. Most naturally occurring food sources of folate are already in this active form.?
Why is Folic Acid in Most Multivitamins?
Unfortunately, many supplement companies formulate their products with the least expensive forms of vitamins in mind. Folic acid is much cheaper to put into a vitamin than the active form, thus you will often see folic acid in most conventional prenatal and multivitamins.?
Methylfolate Supplement May be Superior
Taking a prenatal or multivitamin with methylfolate may be more beneficial than taking one with folic acid. Remember, methylfolate is the most active form of folate in the body. It is well absorbed and can effectively raise folate levels in your blood.
Methylfolate Requires Less Conversions?
Lastly, a huge benefit of a methylfolate supplement is that it is already in the active form. It does not need the MTHFR enzyme and can start working right away.?
Folic acid, however, requires four conversions to get to the active form and is highly dependent on individual genetics and other nutrients for an effective conversion.?
Overall, we recommend choosing a prenatal or multivitamin containing methylated folate, which is often seen on the label as: