Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, is naturally found in many food items. And as you know, we need a lot of vitamins in our bodies to keep healthy. However, folic acid isn’t naturally stored in our bodies. Our bodies use the folic acid it needs; if there’s any excess, it is excreted through our urine. This is why it’s essential to have folic acid in our diets; thankfully, they are easily found. Here are some food items that are high in folic acid.
Legumes
Legumes are the fruit or the seed of any plant found in the Fabaceae family. This family includes peas, beans, and lentils, which are found in a lot of dishes all around the world. Although the amount of folate found in these legumes can vary, they are all still good sources of folic acid. Not only that, but they are also rich in antioxidants, potassium, and magnesium.
Dark Leafy Greens
Most dark leafy veggies are high in folic acid. Spinach alone, which is the powerhouse of all veggies, provides 58 mcg in just one cup of serving. Not only that, but if you cook it, you can get 131 mcg of folic acid in just half a cup of serving.
Doctors usually recommend dark leafy greens because of the vitamins and nutrients they provide. They can even recommend eating them with some medication, especially when you have folic acid deficiency anemia. When in tablet form, folic acid’s average price is $7.77 with the help of discount coupons from platforms like BuzzRX. It’s also a reliable source of folic acid.
Asparagus
Asparagus is also a good source of folic acid. You can get 89 mcg in just four spears of asparagus. Not only that, but asparagus also has a lot of anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, which is good if you have an infection anywhere in your body.
Eggs
Eggs are a common breakfast food. It’s practically part of everyone’s breakfast for a long time now, and it feels like if we don’t have eggs, it’s not a proper breakfast. But did you know it’s also a good source of folic acid? It has 22 mcg of folate, protein, selenium, vitamin B12, riboflavin, etc.
However, while eggs are generally healthy and rich in vitamins and nutrients, they are still packed with cholesterol, especially the yolk. Don’t get us wrong, the yolk itself is still healthy to eat since it’s also a good source of vitamins and nutrients, but too much of it can be bad, especially if you have high cholesterol and heart problems.
Bananas
Everyone loves bananas. Not only does it not need preparation, but it’s also portable. You can bring and eat it almost anywhere. Not only that, they are also popular with fitness and bodybuilding enthusiasts since they are also a key ingredient to pre-workouts and the like. Bananas are known to be a good source of potassium, but that’s not all. They’re also full of vitamins and nutrients and have at least 24 mcg of folic acid.
Final Words
Folic acid is essential to our bodies since it controls cell growth and red blood cell formation. Luckily, it’s not hard to find and is practically in every fruit and vegetable we eat. Some meats have some folic acid, but it’s not as abundant as the amount you get from fruits and vegetables. If you’re looking for a good source of folic acid, you should try incorporating one or two of the food items we discussed above.