IMPORTANCE OF FOLIC ACID IN YOUR DIET

rnEvery nutrient is important for maintaining health and folic acid is one of them. Folic acid is one of the water-soluble vitamin B which helps in the production of red blood cells, for metabolism and synthesis and repair of DNA. You should take proper amount of folic acid in your diet. Women should take 400 microgram daily. But if you are pregnant or planning to have a baby, then you should go for 600 microgram daily. Men should also take 400 microgram daily to ensure good health. Do you know that our diet is not able to meet the daily requirement of folic acid? For this we should also include some folic acid supplements. Vegetables such as beans, peas, lettuce, spinach, sunflower seeds, beets, broccoli, corn, tomato juice contain high folic acid in them. Fruits like honeydew melon, orange, raspberry, banana, grapefruit and strawberry are also rich in folic acid. Few nuts also help in fighting against folic acid deficiency. They include cashew nuts, walnuts, peanuts and almonds. Breakfast cereals, liver products and whole grain flour are also rich sources of folic acid. You should know the benefits of folic acid in your diet. Folic acid is very important for you, if you are pregnant. It helps in the healthy development of the brain, skull and spinal cord of the baby and prevents serious birth defects and many neural defects. Folic acids also help during menopausal time by relieving the hot flushes. It can help in increasing the fertility of you and your partner by contributing in spermatogenesis in men and implantation, maturation and placentation in females. You might be shocked to know that deficiency of folic acid can cause death due to heart diseases. Adequate amount of folic acid in your diet can decrease the level of homocysteine in your blood which is considered as a biggest risk factor for cardiac diseases. Now there is some good news. Folic acid helps in preventing obesity and type II diabetes mellitus. It is known to increase the bile acid production and its flow and thus minimizes the accumulation of cholesterol in your liver and in the blood. There is great importance of folic acid in other body functions also. If you feel depressed often, then folic acid can help you to combat it. Folic acid and its supplements can also be protective tool against allergies, Schizophrenia, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, renal diseases and bone health. If you have never given importance to folic acid then I think I have given you number of reasons to add it in your diet. Understand the importance of folic acid and be healthy.