It’s no secret that folate is important for fetal development.  Folate-deficiencies can contribute to neural-tube defects in babies (such as spina bifida and anencephaly).  In 1998, the US Food and Drug Administration began mandating that manufacturers enrich foods with *folic acid including breads, pastas, and cereals.  Now, almost every food made in a US factory is “enriched” with *folic acid, and other synthetic vitamins.  Even many base ingredients, like flour, will have this additive.  This is where this discussion starts to get interesting.

Folate deficiencies are very common; however, neural-tube defects have increased since 2000, despite the increase in fortified foods.  Why is this?  Probably the same reason people were deficient in folate in the first place.

The easier it is to process food, and the less wild and whole foods we consume, the more depleted in nutrients we become.  Almost every diet journal I review is high in flour/grain products, low in vegetables (especially dark-leafy greens), and low in whole-animal foods, like organ meats.  This is a recipe for low-folate levels, and future fertility imbalances.

We are almost eliminating the foods that not only are nutrient-dense, but also that nourish our digestive system. Without a balanced digestive system, we won’t be able to obtain the nutrients from our food, especially Folate and other B-Vitamins.  Furthermore, many families aren’t starting multivitamins until pregnancy, when most neural-tube defects can’t be prevented.  If you need a supplement, it has to

start at least three months, and more ideally one year, prior to conception to change the quality of the DNA of your baby, not to mention your ability to conceive and then maintain pregnancy. It is so important to understand that nutrition is equally important for Dad as it is for Mom (and children).

 

How Folate Affects Dad

For Dad, sperm development takes at least 30-90 days, from what we can tell right now.  Dads are responsible for a significant part of baby’s genetics, the health of the placenta, and the impacts this pregnancy will have on the mother.  Folate is responsible for increasing sperm count, improving sperm quality and motility, and DNA function in the sperm, and as such, the conceived baby.

 

How Folate Affects Mom

For Mom, folate is one of many foundational nutrients for follicle development, ovulation, and progesterone production, all which establish and maintain fertility and conception.  Folate enables optimal DNA function in her already-created immature eggs, (but this doesn’t cover her mom’s and grandmother’s folate levels during their pregnancies, when she was being developed), plus her growing baby.  The neural tube develops and closes in the first 5 to 8 weeks of pregnancy.  The challenge here is that most women don’t know they’re pregnant until at least the fourth week of pregnancy (at least two weeks after conception).  Waiting this long to start to improve folate levels is too late. Folate also helps prevent pre-term labor.

 

Foods High in Folate

• Liver, especially chicken liver, is by far the best choice for folate (and it doesn’t matter what kind of genes or methylation quality you have, liver contains the right form).

Other foods with much lower levels of folate, but necessary and excellent sources are:

• Leafy greens: blanched spinach, sprouts, spring greens and bitter greens, cress…etc.
• Cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, beets, asparagus, collards, turnips, kale, cabbage…etc. (fermented or steamed improves nutrient absorption of these)
• Eggs
• Sprouted Legumes: lentils, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans…etc.
• Citrus & Tropical Fruits
• Sprouted Nuts & Seeds

400-800 mcg of folate daily during the reproductive years (not just pregnancy) is the goal. Folate is not that hard to get when you use vegetables as a filler food instead of grains and dairy.  Grains, often causing inflammation, are difficult to obtain nutrients from unless they’re soaked, sprouted, and then fermented. Dairy is hard for many to digest without taking lactase enzymes.

 

Many people have genetics that cause problems in converting digested nutrients to usable forms. A common gene variation, MTHFR, stops the body from using folic acid, causing folic acid to build up and act as a poison.  So, read labels and if you supplement, be sure to *avoid B9 folic acid.  Choose 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate or Folinic Acid instead, which are usable by everyone.