YOU should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day because it provides health benefits!

Benefits of folic acid:

• Folic acid may reduce the risk for:
  • heart disease
  • certain cancers (colon and cervical)
  • neural tube defects such as spina bifida
  • other birth defects
• Vitamins can improve overall health and vitality.

				Look on the back of the bottle for the "Supplement Facts" panel. Then look for "Folic Acid." The label will list how much folic acid is in each tablet.
			Choose a product with 400 micrograms of folic acid per tablet or 100% Daily Value and only take one tablet per day. Keep vitamins out of reach of children. If your daily vitamin contains 400 micrograms folic acid, you are already protecting your health! If you find it difficult to take a vitamin pill every day, click here for some easy solutions.

Some foods are fortified with folic acid. The Food and Drug Administration approved fortification to help women and teenage girsl increase their intake of folic acid and to reduce the risk of NTDs.

Some examples of foods that are folic acid fortified are:

Enriched breads and rolls

Enriched pasta, noodles, and macaroni

Enriched flour

Enriched rice

Fortified breakfast cereal

			This cereal contains 100 micrograms of folic acid (25% Daily Value) in each one cup serving. It is considered a fortified cereal.
			This cereal contains 400 micrograms of folic acid (100% Daily Value) in each one cup serving. It is considered a super- fortified cereal.

Remember, you must choose fortified cereals or foods that say "enriched" on the label.

• Super-fortified cereals contain 400 micrograms of folic acid per serving!
• One serving of fortified breakfast cereal contains 100 micrograms of folic acid.
• One cup of enriched cooked rice contains 95 micrograms of folic acid.
• One cup of enriched cooked spaghetti contains 90 micrograms of folic acid.
• Other enriched grain products that contain folic acid include enriched breads, bagels, cereal bars, crackers, rolls, biscuits, and flour tortillas. ANY grain product that is made with enriched flour is a source of folic acid.

Go to "What is a neural tube defect?"

Go to "What about folate found naturally in foods?" to learn how you can make small changes in your diet to include more folate.

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			Folic Acid Every Day Send comments to webmaster at vbrad@ufl.edu Last updated 15 Dec 2000 About this site