Folic acid is one of the most discussed vitamins in the health and medical industry. It remains in the limelight thanks to its importance to prenatal care and proper functioning of biological pathways. Fresh, raw spinach is an excellent source of folate, the naturally occurring form of folic acid, and preparation and storage can impact how well spinach retains this essential vitamin.
Folic Acid
Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin responsible for cell division and growth. Water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored in the body, so you need to carefully monitor your consumption of them to ensure adequate intake. The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine's recommended dietary allowance of folate is 400 mcg daily for healthy adults. Women of childbearing age and pregnant women should take extra measures to ensure they consume a sufficient amount. Failure to consume and absorb adequate amounts can result in severe birth defects like spina bifida and anencephaly. In general, individuals who develop a folate deficiency are susceptible to anemia, increased homocysteine levels and colorectal cancer.
Folic Acid Content in Raw Spinach
Ensuring you get enough folic acid in your diet can be as simple as adding the right foods to your daily menu and supplementing with a multivitamin. Raw spinach contains about 60 mcg of folate per cup, but its folate content rapidly depletes within a few days of harvesting. Refrigeration can slow this process, extending the life of the nutritional content to approximately eight days. Purchasing spinach from a local farmer and consuming it within a week is one way to ensure you get the greatest nutritional value from this food source.
Raw Spinach Versus Cooked Spinach
Access to a local farmer can be challenging in many parts of the country, and although raw spinach is sold in supermarkets everywhere, it has been treated with preserving agents to improve the shelf life, sometimes compromising nutrient content. Frozen spinach, on the other hand, retains valuable nutrients for up to eight months, meaning the trip from the farmer to the manufacturer to the grocery store and finally to you does not deplete the much-needed folate. One cup of frozen spinach, steamed or microwaved, contains 200 mcg of folate.
Dangers of Excess Folic Acid
Of course, everything in moderation remains the best practice. Two 2007 studies, one published in "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention" and the other in "The Journal of the American Medical Association," reported a link between folic acid supplementation and colorectal cancer. These studies found that consuming the RDA of folic acid contributes to the prevention of colorectal cancer, but excessive consumption -- 800 to 1,000 mcg per day -- may actually cause colorectal cancer in genetically predisposed individuals. These studies do not provide a sufficient amount of conclusive evidence, but the concept remains a strong hypothesis. Additional studies following individuals for a longer period of time are necessary to gain more significant evidence.
References
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplements Fact Sheet: Folate
- ScienceDaily; Storage Time and Temperature Affects Nutrients in Spinach; February 2005
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Take 400 mcg of Folic Acid Today!
- PubMed Health: Folate Deficiency
- "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention"; A Temporal Association Between Folic Acid Fortification and an Increase in Colorectal Cancer Rates May Be Illuminating Important Biological Principles: A Hypothesis; J.B. Mason, et al.; July 2007
- "The Journal of the American Medical Association"; Folic Acid for the Prevention of Colorectal Adenomas; B.F. Cole, et al.; 2007
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