The guide to a vegan diet: What is Folate?

The guide to a vegan diet: Folate

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Introduction

Hello again dear reader, today we will look closer at another very important compound, folate, and I ll try to keep it short and informative.

This is something that vegans should have no trouble with, since there are so many delicious sources of folate. Both me and my girl is vegans and we are expecting a baby in December, so put here on diet with higher folate content earlier in the pregnancy, since it is very important for the development of the feuds brain, spinal cord and general DNA production, to mention a few things.

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What is Folate?

Folate in nature comes in a few different forms, either active B-vitamin, B9 actually, or folacin / folic acid which has to be activate in the body and turned to THF - tetrahydrofolate. So far we have only discussed B12 which is much harder for vegans to acquire. Folate is known to be available in many different vegan products so it is just a matter of known which ones really. Folate means leafy and leafy vegetables contains loads of folate.

The man-made folic acid is given as supplement or is used to fortify different products, but as a vegan, you will get more than enough natural folate from your diet, if it's not too one sided. The folic acid is not as effective as many natural occurring forms of folate and must be turned to its active form, this can cause unmetabolized folic acid to build up and cause damage.

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Why do we need it?

The vitamin B9 is directly involved in the formation of methionine from homocysteine, important to form blood cells. We need it to make certain DNA bases or amino acids, since it is a very common coal donor. It is needed to form SAM, an important cofactor for lots of things, e.g methylating DNA to turn its transcription status on or off. The B9 molecule is extremely important and when looking at some more of the reactions it is involved in, we can see why.

https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/life-science/learning-center/biofiles/biofiles-5-6/folic-acid-metabolism.html

As you can see folate or the active form in the middle, THF, is used for many reactions in our body so it is essential to consume it on a regular basis.

There are interactions between B12, folate and Iron so having to little of one, might be masked by the other, always be sure to have all three of these in your diet on a steady basis. For example high folate in your diet could mask iron deficiency until the iron levels is very low if taken in excess.

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What to eat? Do we need supplements?

As a vegan there is no need to take supplements since folate is found in many vegetables and plants. If you only eat meat and little vegetables, you are worse off and might need supplements. Below, the best groups of foods that is rich in folate is listed:

• Soy / edamame: The green soybeans are very high in B9 a good addition to a salad or as side dish. Some B9 is transferred to products like tofu or soy milk.

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• Beans & Lentils: Another great source of B9 a portion of beans or lentils contain more B9 then you need for the day, be sure to have them in your diets.

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• Green vegetables: Broccoli, spinach, Brussels Sprouts, avocado and even lettuce & asparagus contains B9. Avocado also contain healthy fats and spinach / broccoli is rich in iron, these are great to eat on a steady basis.

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• Fruits:Some fruits like mango, lemons or oranges got some B9 but also healthy enzymes and many other beneficial nutrients like vitamin C, always have fruit at home.

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• Nuts & Seeds: Many different seeds or nuts contain folate. Almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are some examples.

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• Fortified products: Just like with vitamin B12 and D, many products are fortified with vitamin B9, cereals, milk or milk substitutions and of course donuts :) along with many other products so there are really never any needs for supplements.

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The first recipe of two, in a post i recently made, contains both tofu, beans and a served with lentils, loads of folate!

Read the recipe here!

A nice stew with sweet potatoes, chili, beans and tofu served with lentils, a folate bomb :)

Pcitures from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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Thanks for checking my posts out, much appreciated!

Peace