Due you always face difficulty choosing right kinds of food for your body?rnHaving right knowledge and disciplined food habits can do wonders to your health. If you wish to live healthy life, it is important to first grasp all knowledge of healthy foods and then try to get disciplined enough to capitalize the learning.
In this article, we will try to understand one of the most important nutrients called Vitamin B9 or Folate. We will try to understand why it’s important for our body and what food can help us to get required dosage.
rnWhat is Vitamin B9?rnVitamin B9 (also known as folate) is a water soluble vitamin which is vital for cell growth and functionality.rnIt occurs both in natural and synthetic form. rnWe can get the natural vitamins from the food we eat and the synthetic ones are available through various medicinal and food supplements known by the name of folic acid.
However, it should be noted that the synthetic form (Folic acid) is not as efficient as the natural form.rnWhy?rnThe naturally occurring folic acid is converted into active form (called 5-MTHF) directly in the digestive system while the synthetic ones are converted in liver and other tissues which make the process less efficient.rnDue to metabolism in liver, the process gets very slow and results in high levels of un-metabolized folic acid in the blood which can have adverse effect in the body.rnHence, in order to get best dosage of this Vitamin, it’s better to go for natural sources.
rnWhy is this vitamin important?rnVitamin B9 is extremely important for our body, it plays following crucial role:
1. Vital for making Red Blood Cells (RBC’s)rnRed Blood Cells are the ones which carry oxygen to different parts of the body. A person with insufficient RBC’s suffers from a condition called anaemia in which they face extreme weakness and dizziness as the different body-cells are not getting enough of oxygen.
2. it’s important for pregnant women to get enough of this vitamin.rnLack of sufficient dosage can result in major deformities in the brain or spine of the new-born child. Women who are planning to get pregnant should plan to get sufficient dose of folic acid atleast 1 year before conceiving, this can help reduce the risk of having premature child by 50%
3. For DNA/RNA synthesis rn4. Regular dose of folic acid can prevent us from age related hearing disorder. You may have seen how elderly face difficulty in hearing and comprehension.rnYou can avoid this complication by ensuring yourself suitable dose of folic acid.rn5. Deficiency of this vitamin exposes you to higher risk of developing memory-related problemsrnYou may have seen from the above points that how important role folic acid plays in our body. So it’s important for us to get sufficient dosage to prevent any deficiency. In the below section, I have listed various food sources which are full of this vitamin and are also available easily in the local market.
1. Cabbage: Most people hate eating this vegetable. But what if I tell you that, it is one of the most nutritious vegetable and also affordable to buy.rnApart from being filled up with folate, this vegetable offers tremendous benefits like rna. Improves digestive system functionalityrnb. Fights cancerrnc. maintains healthy blood sugar (useful for diabetics)rnd. Helpful for weight loss (low in calorie/fats/carbs)rne. Strengthen Immune system (rich in Vitamin C)rnCAUTION: Try to eat this vegetable as raw/boiled. Don’t microwave it as it may destroy its nutrient.
rn2. Cauliflower: Accounts for 14% of daily requirements. This vegetable is also an excellent source of anti-oxidants and plays an important role to prevent deadly disease like cancer.
3. Broccoli: Meets 14% of the daily folate requirement, also rich in various other nutrients like Vitamin A and K. rnThe above mentioned green vegetables also make good food for diabetics. Diabetics face difficulty in metabolizing carbohydrates; these foods are not only low in carbs but also full of essential nutrient which helps them to nourish their body.
4. Asparagusrn5. Organ Liver (Non-Vegetarian Item)rnBeef and chicken liver are excellent source of this vitaminrn6. Avocados (not easily available in India)rn7. Egg YolkrnApart from Vitamin B9, eggs offer variety of benefits to human bodyrna. Protect your eyes (contains lutein antioxidants)rnb. Contain vitamin A,D,E and K rnhence you can see that a single egg yolk is packed with so much of essential vitamins that benefit your eyes, skin, teeth, bones and brainrnc. Eating eggs keeps you satiated and helps you escape your daily severe hunger pangs. This is especially important for a person who tends to overeat, incorporating eggs in the diet can help you avoid overeating practice.rnCAUTION: Egg Yolk is rich in cholesterol. Some studies suggest that eating them cause no harm, while other just want to steer away from incorporating this food on daily basis.rnDue to such contradiction, I will suggest limiting your egg consumption to 1 or 2, I believe we need to strike some good balance to utilize this food effectively
8. Citrus Fruits like oranges, strawberries, grapefruitrn9. Banana: Meets 11% of the daily vitamin requirementrn10. Leafy Vegetables like Spinach, Kalern11. Ladyfinger (okhra)rnOther benefits offered by this vegetable are:rna. Rich in Fibre (helpful for digestion)rnb. Good source of Vitamin C and Krnc. Recommended for diabetics as this food is found to reduce cholesterol levelrnCAVEAT: There are claims by many doctors/marketers to cure diabetes by using secret okra ingredient. Many desperate people fall into this trap. Don’t, I say don’t ever trust such person who comes up with such Ponzi scheme.rnResearch thoroughly and trust your certified medical practitioners. If you want to know more about diabetes you can visit yogicult.com (
https://yogicult.com/)
12. Co
13. Black Eyed Pea (“Lobhia” in Hindi)rn14. Fortified CerealsrnMost of the countries (mainly developed ones) have laws that direct manufacturers/food processors to fortify cereals with essential nutrients and vitamin B9 is one of them)
What are the daily requirements of Vitamin B9 in human body?rnAverage adult usually need around 400 mcg (microgram) of folate in his body. But you may need more of it if you are in certain life-phase (like pregnancy) or is suffering from certain medical condition.
Is there any side-effect of taking high dose of folic acid?rnFolic acid is a water soluble vitamin, so if you have taken extra dose of this nutrient it will automatically remove through your urine.rnHowever, in rare cases some people have developed stomach problems but this is something which not majorly concern usrn