Folic Acid – why it’s NOT in our Prenatal Vitamin

Prenatal Vitamins – does yours contain Folic acid or MTHF?

Hold the front door how can our prenatal vitamin NOT contain folic acid? Today on Myth Bustin Monday let's explore folic acid!

Folate Deficiency

We know that folate deficiency (vit b9 deficiency) is linked to neural tube defects and low-birth-weight in infants. Requirements of this nutrient increase dramatically in pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester. Folate-rich foods are always the best liver, legumes, beets, avocados and greens boast the most nutrient dense profile of this needed vitamin. We know, however, that in pregnancy our palate may change especially in the first trimester when folate is needed most. A prenatal vitamin is often recommended to ensure Mom and baby are receiving optimal nutritional support. Most will contain folic acid, the synthetic version of folate.

Methylated Folate Supplement

This is where it gets interesting though – the latest research confirms that folic acid must be converted to its active form to be used by the body. Some women are unable to make the conversion efficiently and up to 30-percent of the North American population may have a genetic enzyme defect that makes it difficult for them to convert folic acid into active 5-MTHF.

This may result in unnatural levels of unmetabolized folic acid circulating systemically. Given the importance of folate repletion, we only use 5-MTHF in our prenatal vitamin, not folic acid!

A sure-fire way to assess the quality of your prenatal is to check if the vitamins and mineral are in the most bioactive forms. Common formulations contain vitamins and minerals in their cheapest form folic acid is cheap. MTHF is not. Help spread the knowledge that not all supplements are created equal!

Learn more about folic acid and midline defects in our blog post on folic acid and tongue tie research.

Rest assured, our Womb to Grow is a prenatal vitamin with folate in its active, ready to use form, not folic acid. Purchase our Womb to Grow complete prenatal vitamin.