What Are The Benefits Of Folic Acid Vitamin B9?

Folic acid, or vitamin B9, is a powerhouse among vitamins because of the health benefits it delivers. Folic acid occurs naturally and is found in a variety of foods, including beef liver, leafy green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, dried beans, orange juice and fortified cereals. According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, the recommended daily allowance of folic acid is 400mcg. This level of B9 is available via vitamin supplements, in a 3/4-cup serving of a 100 percent fortified cereal, or from a combination of foods high in folic acid.

Red Blood Cells

Along with iron and vitamin B12, your body needs folic acid to create new red blood cells. These are the workhorses of the body, picking up oxygen from your lungs and delivering it throughout your body, and returning carbon dioxide from your cells to the lungs to be expelled. Research reported in the Journal of Nutrition in 2001 found that cereals fortified with folic acid significantly improved the concentrations of folate in red blood cells.

DNA

Folic acid plays an important role in cellular function and the effectiveness of your DNA's built-in repair system. A vitamin B9 deficiency can contribute to the development of cancer. But research published in the May 2005 issue of Gut, an International Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, demonstrated that taking folic acid supplements can reverse the effects of B9 deficiency in people with colorectal adenoma, a condition that can lead to cancer. It also improves the process of DNA repair.

Pregnancy

Folic acid provides important benefits for women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy, because it reduces the chances that the baby will experience brain and spinal-cord birth defects. The March of Dimes recommends that women take a supplement containing at least 400mcg of folic acid daily before they become pregnant, and to increase the level to 600 mcg for the first trimester of pregnancy. It also recommends eating a diet rich in foods containing folic acid, such as fortified cereals, orange juice and leafy green vegetables.

Menstrual Symptoms

Because folic acid plays an important role in the development of red blood cells, MayoClinic.com says that it can help prevent the effects of anemia during a woman's menstrual cycle. In particular, if your periods are heavy and result in a greater amount of blood loss than normal, your doctor may recommend that you take folic acid supplements.

Tissue Growth

Folic acid is important for tissue formation and growth because of the role it plays in DNA formation. This linkage has important implications for the healing of damaged tissue. According to research published in June 2010 by the National Institutes of Health, folic acid supplements helped speed the healing of damaged spinal cord tissue in rats. Although the results of this research are specific to rats, researchers are hopeful that folic acid will show the same benefits for tissue growth in humans.