Why I Never Recommend Using Folic Acid

I see a lot of folate deficiencies in my practice with clients who are: 

• On hormonal birth control 

• Transitioning off birth control

• Struggling with hormone imbalances

• Have anemia or low iron counts

• Have methylation genetic mutations such as MTHFR

• Trying to get pregnant

• Already have a little one growing inside

Folate (methyl-folate) is a really important B vitamin that your body needs to thrive. You've maybe heard of how important it is for pregnancy, but it plays a crucial role in a lot of very particular actions outside of pregnancy, too!

Not only does folate help with neural and spinal cord development for babies in utero, it also is important for DNA methylation and synthesis (the turning off and on of genes) and red blood cell development.

I don't use or recommend folic acid for clients within my practice because this is the synthetic form of folate that our body cannot break down and use as easily or as readily as it can methyl-folate. In order for folic acid to be used by our body, it has to go through a conversion process that packages it into a form called Methyltetrahydrofolate (MTHFR) or methyl-folate. So, by supplementing with methyl-folate it doesn't need to go through this lengthy conversion process. If you have a genetic mutation called MTHFR (over 40% of us do!) it's hard on our body to complete this process, leaving us even more depleted. I am alllll about how we can simplify our body's processes and methyl-folate is one of the ways!

Is this totally knew information to you?? Let me know!