folate | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org

26 videos

Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Paul

On average, those eating the standard American diet are deficient in folate (among other nutrients), and eating a plant-based diet typically provides higher levels of most nutrients, including folate.

Folate is found in dark green leafy vegetables, red lentils, ground flax seeds, and beans. Low folate may be associated with insomnia and depression. Homocysteine, a toxin associated with Alzheimer’s disease, can be detoxified from our body with folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6. Folate may be better absorbed if we chop our veggies first.

Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate, but it may not be as effective and may elevate our risk of some types of cancer.

The information on this page has been compiled from the research presented in the videos listed. Sources for each video can be found by going to the video’s page and clicking on the Sources Cited tab.

All Videos for Folate

Pregnant person holding a white bowl of whole food

Plant-Based Pregnancy Outcomes and Breast Milk

The composition of breast milk is compared between vegetarian and nonvegetarian women.

Should Vegetarians Take Creatine to Normalize Homocysteine?

Should Vegetarians Take Creatine to Normalize Homocysteine?

What are the consequences of having to make your own creatine rather than relying on dietary sources?

How to Test for Functional Vitamin B12 Deficiency

How to Test for Functional Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Many doctors mistakenly rely on serum B12 levels in the blood to test for vitamin B12 deficiency.

Benefits of Quinoa for Lowering Triglycerides

Benefits of Quinoa for Lowering Triglycerides

How do the nutrition and health effects of quinoa compare to whole grains?

How to Cook Greens

How to Cook Greens

Dark green leafy vegetables are the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. What’s the best way to prepare them?

How to Prevent Toxoplasmosis

How to Prevent Toxoplasmosis

The risk of contracting the brain parasite toxoplasma from kitty litter vs. meat.

Best Supplement for Canker Sores

Best Supplement for Canker Sores

Vitamin C, turmeric, beta-glucan fiber, and vitamin B12 are put to the test for recurring canker sores (aphthous ulcers).

How to Prevent Alzheimer’s With Diet

How to Prevent Alzheimer’s with Diet

What evidence is there that our meat-sweet diets play a cause-and-effect role in dementia?

What is the Healthiest Diet?

What Is the Healthiest Diet?

What is the baggage that comes along with the nutrients in your food?

9. Preventing Gout Attacks with Diet

Preventing Gout Attacks with Diet

If the uric acid crystals that trigger gout come from the breakdown of purines, should gout patients avoid even healthy, purine-rich foods, such as beans, mushrooms, and cauliflower?

Industry Response to Plants Not Pills

Industry Response to Plants Not Pills

The whole food is greater than the sum of its parts: how unscrupulous marketers use evidence that ties high blood levels of phytonutrients with superior health to sell dietary supplements that may do more harm than good.

Are Green Smoothies Bad for You?

Are Green Smoothies Good for You?

Smoothies (and blended soups and sauces) offer a convenient way to boost both the quantity and quality of fruit and vegetable intake by reducing food particle size to help maximize nutrient absorption.

Preventing Brain Loss with B Vitamins?

Preventing Brain Loss with B Vitamins?

One week on a plant-based diet can significantly drop blood levels of homocysteine, a toxin associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Without vitamin B12 supplementation, though, a long-term plant-based diet could make things worse.

Antioxidants and Depression

Antioxidants and Depression

Neither antioxidant or folic acid supplements seem to help with mood, but the consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables and folate-rich beans and greens may lower the risk for depression.

Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?

Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?

Nutritional quality indices show plant-based diets are the healthiest, but do vegetarians and vegans reach the recommended daily intake of protein?

Canned Beans or Cooked Beans?

Canned Beans or Cooked Beans?

Canned beans are convenient, but are they as nutritious as home-cooked? And, if we do use canned, should we drain them or not?

Nutrient-Dense Approach to Weight Management

Nutrient-Dense Approach to Weight Management

Americans eating meat-free diets average higher intakes of nearly every nutrient, while maintaining a lower body weight—perhaps due, in part, to their higher resting metabolic rates.

Eggs and Choline: Something Fishy

Eggs and Choline: Something Fishy

Too much choline—a compound concentrated in eggs and other animal products—can make bodily secretions smell like rotting fish, and may increase the risk of heart disease, due to conversion in the gut to trimethylamine.

bowl of cut kiwis

Kiwifruit for Insomnia

Two kiwi fruit an hour before bedtime may improve sleep quality and duration, without the side effects associated with sleeping pills.

Fiber vs. Breast Cancer

Inadequate fiber intake appears to be a risk factor for breast cancer, which can explain why women eating plant-based diets may be at lower risk.

new mineral absorption enhancers found

New Mineral Absorption Enhancers Found

The whole grain phytonutrient phytic acid (phytate) partially inhibits mineral absorption, but has a wide range of health-promoting properties, such as anticancer activity. By concurrently eating mineral absorption enhancers, such as garlic and onions, one can get the best of both worlds by improving the bioavailability of iron and zinc in plant foods.

Some Dietary Supplements May Be More Than a Waste of Money

People taking dietary supplements may, in some cases, be paying to make themselves sick. This video covers folic acid, beta carotene, and green tea supplements.

The Healthiest Lentil

The Healthiest Lentil

Red, green, or French green?

Plant vs. Cow Calcium

Plant vs. Cow Calcium

What baggage comes along with the calcium in milk?

Nine Servings a Day Minimum

Nine Servings a Day Minimum

In trying to reach your nine daily servings of fruits and vegetables, which ones don’t count?

Just the Flax Maam

Just the Flax, Ma’am

Ground flax seed consumption may decrease breast cancer risk by slowing one’s menstrual cycle. It may also control prostate enlargement as effectively as the leading prescription drug.

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