Vitamin B9 (folate / folic acid)

Gold· human data

Also known as: Folic acid, Methylfolate, Folinic acid

Essential for DNA synthesis; supplementation before pregnancy is firmly established.

Folate (vitamin B9) is essential for DNA synthesis and red-blood-cell production. Its best-established supplemental use is before and during early pregnancy, where folic acid clearly lowers the risk of neural-tube defects — one of the strongest cases for any supplement.

For general use, folate works hand in hand with vitamin B12, and supplementing folate can mask a B12 deficiency, so the two are checked together. Active forms (methylfolate, folinic acid) are options for people with certain MTHFR variants, though for most, folic acid is effective.

Sources

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Written and reviewed by Mathew Beale, MSc Biotechnology, University of Reading.

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