Vitamin B9 — answers to folate / folic acid
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A B vitamin required for DNA synthesis and cell division. Folate is the form naturally found in food; folic acid is the synthetic form used in supplements and fortified foods.
Why it’s used
Taken to meet folate needs — particularly to support normal fetal development during pregnancy — and to correct folate-deficiency anemia.
What the evidence is for
reducing neural tube defect risk when taken before and during early pregnancy, and correcting folate-deficiency anemia.
What the evidence says
NIH ODS states that folic acid supplementation before and during early pregnancy is well established to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, and that folate deficiency causes megaloblastic anemia; evidence for other proposed benefits, such as cognitive effects in people who are not deficient, is considerably weaker.
Dose studied
400–1000 mcg — adult RDA up to the tolerable upper intake level, per NIH ODS.
Context
NIH ODS lists the RDA at 400 micrograms dietary folate equivalents per day for adults, rising to 600 micrograms during pregnancy, with a tolerable upper intake level of 1,000 micrograms of folic acid per day from fortified foods and supplements.
Educational information, not medical or safety advice. Consult a professional for allergies or medical concerns.