Folic acid is being added to food to prevent birth defects, but why is it so good for you, and how can we add it to our diet?

Anyone whose ever been pregnant will probably have been advised to take folic acid, or folate, at some point before or during their pregnancy. And with good reason, as Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Robin Swann has announced that folic acid will now be added to flour as part of the effort to prevent life-threatening spinal conditions in babies. 

It’s thought that this move – which follows the UK government’s recent announcement that folic acid will be added to flour in England, Scotland, and Wales –  could prevent up to 200 birth defects a year. 

According to the NHS, folic acid can “reduce the risk of birth defects called neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in unborn babies,” Spina bifida is a condition in which a “baby’s spine and spinal cord does not develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine.”

Folic acid is currently fortified into flour in 80 countries, with Australia reporting a 14% drop in neural tube defects after they started fortifying bread. While there have been concerns about reported side effects of fortified flour, the government’s independent advisory body – the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition – is satisfied that these concerns are not backed by evidence.

What is folic acid? 

Folic acid is the man-made version of folate (or vitamin B9), which helps the body make healthy red blood cells.  “Folate is Vitamin B9, and in the supplement market often referred to as Folic Acid,’ explainsLorna Driver Davies, Head of Nutrition at Wild Nutrition. ”Folic acid is a synthetic form of Folate, and you don’t find it naturally in food. Methylated ‘active’ Folate is preferable since many people cannot genetically metabolise and convert Folic Acid into natural folate in the body. Folate is critical in pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects. I don’t recommend supplementing synthetic folic acid for more than the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, but you can safely supplement natural methylated folate all the way through a pregnancy, which is important since Folate plays a great role in development beyond those 12 weeks and supports energy, iron levels, mood, immunity and more.”

How much folic acid do I need per day? 

The NHS advise that adults need 200 micrograms of folate a day. The symbol for a microgram is μg and its 1,000 times smaller than a milligram. As there are no long-term stores of folate in the body, it’s also recommended that you eat food which contain folate frequently. 

If you’re pregnant or trying for a baby, or could get pregnant, the NHS recommended that you take a 400 microgram folic acid supplement daily until you’re 12 weeks pregnant. 

If you don’t get enough folic acid, you may struggle with folic acid deficiencies, which can manifest as fatigue, feeling weak, diarrhoea, and unintentional weight loss.

However, people who are over 50 and/or have a history of bowel cancer are not recommended to take folic acid supplements containing more than 200μg a day.