Folate, also called vitamin B9, is an essential vitamin that supports the health of growing cells throughout the body. Folate is the natural dietary form of vitamin B9, and folic acid is the manmade form of this vitamin, found in fortified foods and supplements. One of the many positive effects of folate is helping to prevent heart disease.
Folate and Homocysteine
The key mechanism by which folate reduces the risk of heart disease is through reducing blood homocysteine levels. Harvard Health Publications reports that homocysteine is elevated in about 50 percent of those who have heart disease, while elevated levels are only found in 5 percent of those in the general population. Even more convincing is that the risk of heart disease was reduced 20 to 30 percent in women who received 100 percent of the recommended daily dose of folic acid per day.
Blood Vessel Damage
Homocysteine is thought to contribute to heart disease by causing damage to the blood vessels, notes Harvard Health Publications. Damaged blood vessels can lead to high blood pressure, which makes the heart work harder than normal. Over time, damaged blood vessels can lead to a damaged heart. Damaged blood vessels can also cause blood to more easily clot, which could lead to stroke. The effect of folate on homocysteine levels in the blood ultimately reduces the risk of blood vessel damage and thus heart disease.
Recommendations
Although natural folate and manmade folic acid have the same effects on the body, they are absorbed in the body at different rates. Folic acid is more easily absorbed compared to folate, so it takes 1 microgram of folate to have the same effect as 0.6 micrograms of folic acid. The Office of Dietary Supplements recommends people over the age of 14 years should have 400 micrograms of folate per day. Because folate is also important for the health of a fetus, pregnant women are advised to get 600 micrograms per day, and breastfeeding women should have 500 micrograms per day. To determine the functional equivalent of folic acid daily intake, the amount of recommended folate can be multiplied by 0.6. For example, while 400 micrograms of folate is recommended, 240 micrograms of folic acid will have the equivalent effect on the body.
Dietary Sources
Fortified breakfast cereals are the best source of folic acid, the manmade form of folate. These fortified cereals generally contain between 100 and 400 micrograms of folic acid, which provides between 25 and 100 percent of the daily recommended value, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. Foods that are rich in the natural version of vitamin B9 include beef liver, spinach, asparagus, black eyed peas and green peas.
