Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, a water-soluble B vitamin. Like folate, folic acid helps in the formation of red blood cells, body tissue and genetic material such as DNA and RNA. While supplementing the diet with folic acid can lead to unwanted side effects, especially when taken in high doses, it doesn’t appear to have any effect on the gallbladder, so taking folic acid shouldn’t aggravate this organ. Talk to your doctor before taking this or any other dietary supplement.
Dosage
Like many other nutrients, the daily recommended allowance of folic acid is based on age. Between the ages of 1 and 3, intake is set at 150 micrograms a day. As you get older, the intake gradually increases to 200 micrograms for ages 4 to 8, 300 micrograms for ages 9 to 13 and 400 micrograms for ages 14 and older. If you’re pregnant, the intake increases again, to 600 micrograms. While breastfeeding, try to get 500 micrograms a day.
Upper Limits
Taking too much of this vitamin can lead to adverse effects. For this reason, the Institute of Medicine has established tolerable upper intake levels for each age range. It isn’t until your intake surpasses this amount that complications usually follow. For ages 1 to 3, this limit is 300 micrograms, while ages 4 to 8 should get no more than 400 micrograms a day. Avoid more than 600 micrograms for ages 9 to 13, 800 micrograms for ages 14 to 18 and 1,000 micrograms for ages 19 and older. If you do take more than these levels, you may experience side effects, but none involve the gallbladder.
Side Effects
While folic acid is generally considered safe, it may lead to side effects when taken at high doses. Most side effects are gastrointestinal in nature, but you may also suffer skin reactions, sleep disruptions and seizures from taking too much of this vitamin. Folic acid is known to adversely interact with certain medications as well. The most common is tetracycline, but talk to your doctor to determine if the efficacy of other medications may be altered from its use.
Recommendation
Rather than relying on a dietary supplement to meet your body’s folate needs, incorporate more foods rich in this B vitamin. Most breakfast cereals are fortified with folic acid. You can also increase your intake of folate by eating more spinach, asparagus, peas, broccoli, avocado, rice and certain legumes. Drinking more orange juice or tomato juice can increase your intake as well.
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