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Publication #FCS8560

Healthy Eating: FOLATE1

Linda B. Bobroff2

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Why is folate important?

Folate is one of the B vitamins. Our bodies use folate to build proteins and to make new cells. Folate is especially important for women of childbearing age, pregnant and nursing women, growing children and older people.

If you don't get enough folate, you could develop anemia. You also could be at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, or memory problems.

How much folate do I need?

Older adults need 400 micrograms (µg) of folate a day.

Table 1. 

Good Sources of Folate

FOOD

FOLATE

(µg)

Spinach, cooked, ½ cup

130

Kidney beans, cooked, ½ cup

115

Fortified cereal, 1 serving

100 – 400

Peanuts, dry roasted, ½ cup

80

Orange juice, 1 cup

75

Romaine, shredded, 1 cup

75

What foods contain folate?

  • Green leafy vegetables

  • Orange juice

  • Beans and lentils

  • Peanuts

  • Fortified cereals and breads

If you do not get enough folate from the foods you eat, you may need to take a supplement. Supplements contain a form of the vitamin called folic acid.

Footnotes

1.

This publication is FCS8560, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. This leaflet was developed with funding from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, in partnership with state, county and local agencies. Publication date: March 2000. Revised: February 2006. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Linda B. Bobroff, PhD, RD, LD/N, professor, Foods and Nutrition, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0310. Leaflet design by Paulina Wittkowsky, MS, RD, formerly with the Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.