Folic Acid vs. Folate Explained and Simplified
Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast
Dr. Eric Berg
4.7 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 10 October 2023
⏱️ 6 minutes
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Summary
Today I’m going to cover folic acid and folate. Are they the same? No, they’re not—and we’re going to talk about why. Folic acid is the synthetic version of vitamin B9, and folate is the natural version. Many pregnant women take a supplement that contains folic acid because data shows that it can help prevent neural tube defects. But many people are finding that they have a genetic mutation related to B9, which means there could be a problem if they take folic acid. This genetic mutation involves an enzyme responsible for converting folic acid into an active form so your body can use it. People with this mutation need more vitamin B9 than usual, but it’s also important that they don’t have too much. For example, one of the top benefits of vitamin B9 is that it protects against the initiation of cancer. However, excess vitamin B9 is also involved in the initiation of new cancer cells. The solution is to take a version of vitamin B9 that doesn’t require an enzyme to be converted—making this genetic mutation not a problem anymore. What we need is more methylfolate. Methylfolate is a type of vitamin B9 that’s easily absorbed and doesn’t require other enzyme reactions like synthetic folic acid does. Overall, it’s essential to avoid products that contain folic acid and consume more foods that contain natural folate. The best source of natural B9 is dark leafy green vegetables.
DATA:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23125...
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Let's talk about the difference between folic acid and I'm talking about the synthetic version |
| 0:05.7 | of vitamin B9 as well as folic to the natural version. Are they the same? You know, so many women, |
| 0:13.4 | while when they're pregnant, they start taking a prenatal that is just loaded up with this synthetic |
| 0:18.6 | folic acid. And there's a lot of data to show that that can help prevent things like neural tube |
| 0:25.5 | defects, which is an incomplete closure of the spinal column. And so it's true, it does do that. |
| 0:31.8 | But with more and more people recognizing that they may have a mutation with a certain gene that |
| 0:39.4 | relates to B9, I think we should talk about it. There's a very common problem with a gene that is |
| 0:46.9 | called MTHFR. It involves an enzyme in converting folic acid into the active form so your body can |
| 0:56.8 | use it. So if you have a problem with this gene, your ability to get this active form of B9 |
| 1:03.7 | is greatly inhibited. And if you end up taking this synthetic version, which is called folic acid, |
| 1:10.1 | you can have a lot of problems because it can accumulate as unmetabolized folic acid. |
| 1:17.8 | Now, it probably is not going to become a problem unless you take large amounts. But the fact that if |
| 1:23.2 | you have this mutation, you're going to be deficient. So there's this delicate balance of getting |
| 1:28.7 | just the right amount of this B9. Because here's the thing, B9 actually does a lot of things. |
| 1:35.5 | It protects against the initiation of cancer because B9 helps to protect the DNA against |
| 1:43.4 | problems with the code. And if you have just the right amount of B9, it can protect this damage |
| 1:49.3 | within the DNA that can potentially then lead to cancer. B9 also is involved in the initiation |
| 1:57.8 | of new cancer cells. That sounds like it's kind of conflicting. On one hand, it prevents |
| 2:05.2 | the initiation of new cancer cells, but on the other hand, it can actually help grow this cancer |
| 2:09.7 | cells. But based on the data that I read, it's really when you have way too much of this folic acid. |
| 2:17.5 | So this complicates things because with this mutation, you need more than you normally should have, |
| 2:24.1 | yet you don't want to get too much. So the solution to this problem is to take a type of B9 |
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