Folic acid belongs to the group of B vitamins and helps your body produce and maintain cells. In pill form, it is used to help prevent birth defects in pregnancy and to treat folic acid deficiency and other conditions, such as anemia. Healthy adults can safely consume 400 to 800 mcg per day. Ask your health care provider what dose is right for you.
Multivitamins
Multivitamins contain folic acid, along with other essential nutrients. The purpose of multivitamins is to supply your body with necessary vitamins that you may not obtain from diet alone. Multivitamins are formulated for men, women and children to ensure each gender and age group receives the recommended daily allowance for that group. Your body may not require the amount of folic acid found in multivitamins, or it may require more.
Prenatal Vitamins
The purpose of prenatal vitamins is to supply expectant and nursing mothers with the proper amount of nutrients for pregnancy and breastfeeding. Prenatal vitamins have folic acid, calcium and iron. Expectant mothers require more folic acid during pregnancy to help prevent spina bifida and other neurological birth defects. During pregnancy, women require 800 to 1,000 mcg of folic acid daily. As MayoClinic.com notes, it's recommended that women consume 800 mcg of folic acid daily even before conception. Breastfeeding mothers require the same amount of folic acid.
Supplements
While folic acid is found in multivitamins, it's also available as a supplement. Doctors may recommend folic acid supplements to treat a folic acid deficiency or megaloblastic anemia. Megaloblastic anemia causes red blood cells to enlarge, which increases the nucleus size in relation to cell cytoplasm. Folic acid supplements also may help treat methotrexate toxicity, which occurs when patients with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis use methotrexate on a long-term basis.
When a physician recommends a folic acid supplement instead of simply a multivitamin, it's usually because the patient has a condition related specifically to an inadequate supply of folic acid.
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