Folic Acid is a very important B vitamin. Your body uses it when making new cells. "Going Folic" means getting enough folic acid and other B vitamins to be healthy. You need at least 400 micrograms (mcg) everyday.

Women with certain medical conditions like diabetes, obesity, liver disease, and anemia due to folate deficiency, or who take seizure or other medications should ask their health care provider if they need more.

Folic Acid = Beauty from the Inside Out

It works with other B Vitamins to give you stronger and healthier hair, nails and skin.

Folic Acid = Better Health

Getting enough folic acid can prevent a certain type of anemia. While more research is needed, recent studies have found that taking a multi-vitamin with folic acid may:

• Lower your risk for breast, cervical, and colon cancer
• Give you a healthier heart
• Help your body deal with stress

What if I'm in my teens?

Folic acid is very important for teen women. Your body is growing and changing very fast, making millions upon millions of new cells everyday. Your body uses folic acid to make these new cells. So Go Folic!

For Parents!

Do you have a teenage daughter? Do you have a teenage neice or little sister? Download our handout just for parents: English | Spanish | Chinese.

Did you know?

... that 50% of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. Many women who have an unplanned pregnancy do not take folic acid before they get pregnant. That's not good! Women who take folic acid before they get pregnant have healthier babies. Read more in the next section.

Thinking about getting pregnant?

Taking a multi-vitamin with folic acid several months before you get pregnant will help to prevent many serious problems with your baby!

Taking folic acid for at least three months before prenancy can prevent some serious birth defects!

Women who get 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day at least 3 months before they get pregnant decrease the chance of having a baby with serious brain and spine problems by 50-70%. Birth defects of the brain and spine are called neural tube defects (NTD). The most common are:

• Spina bifida (the spinal cord doesn't fully close)
• Anencephaly (under-developed brain)
• Encephalocele (brain tissue sticks out of an opening in the skull)

Other NTDs can make it difficult for a baby to run or play. All of these problems happen during the first month — usually before a woman knows she's pregnant. Click here to see some photos.

Taking folic acid before pregnancy may have other benefits.

In California, 1 in 12 babies are born too early. One recent study found that women who take folic acid for at least a year before they get pregnant may reduce their risk for premature (early) labor. Babies born before 37 weeks are not yet fully developed. Some babies who are born too early don't live. Those who do survive often have serious life-long problems like:

• Blindness
• Deafness
• Lung problems
• Heart problems
• Liver problems
• Retardation
• Learning disabilities
• Difficulty eating
• Anemia
• Cerebral palsy

Recent studies have found that folic acid may decrease a woman's chances of giving birth to a baby with cleft palate and defects of the heart and urinary tract.

Getting Enough Folic Acid is Easy!

Our bodies only absorb 50% of the folate we get from the foods we eat. (Folate is the kind of folic acid in foods.) We absorb:

• 100% of the folic acid in a multi-vitamin

• 85% of the folic acid in "enriched" or "fortified" bread, grains & cereals

• 50% of the folate in foods

Take the easy way to get enough folic acid! Either:

• Take a daily multi-vitamin with 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid (pregnant women and those thinking of getting pregnant need 800)

• Eat a bowl of cereal with 400 mcg of folic acid every morning (two bowls if you're thinking of getting pregnant).

Check the nutrition label!

Look for the words folate or folic acid:

Click here to see a list of folate-rich foods from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Do you know the best way to take your multi-vitamins?

Many people don't. Here is the 411 to get the most out of a multi-vitamin:

1. Take it everyday
2. Take it with food to prevent nausea
3. Take it at the end of a meal to help absorption
4. Continue taking it, even if you forget and skip one or more days

Get Your Free Multi-Vitamins!

The Go Folic! Women's Nutrition Project is giving a year’s supply of FREE multi-vitamins with folic acid to San Francisco women, ages of 14 – 44. If you live in San Francisco, click here to find out how you can get yours!

Get extra folate by eating well!

These foods have a lot of folate, the form of folic acid found in foods: leafy greens, beans & lentils, peanuts and sunflower seeds, orange juice, berries, and avocados. Click here to get a longer list. Click here for some tasty recipes.