University of FloridaSolutions for Your Life

Download PDF 
Publication #FCS8567

Healthy Eating for Elders: Folate1

Linda Bobroff2

This document is best viewed as a PDF. Click here to access the PDF.

What is folate?

Folate is one of the B vitamins. It is involved in the formation of DNA and amino acids. DNA is the genetic material found in all cells of your body. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.

Folate is an important nutrient for everyone. It's especially important for pregnant and nursing women, growing children, and older adults.

Many older people do not get enough folate. This can cause several health problems. Getting enough folate is easier now that many foods are fortified with the vitamin.

Table 1. 

Fortified foods: Foods with added nutrients. The form of folate found in fortified foods and supplements is folic acid.

What foods contain folate?

The word folate comes from the same Latin word as foliage, or leaves. Some of the best food sources are green leafy vegetables, like spinach, collards and kale. Other foods that are high in folate are oranges and orange juice, legumes (beans and lentils), and peanuts.

Fortified grain foods, like cereals and breads, contain the form of folate called folic acid.

What happens if I don't get enough folate?

When you don't get enough folate, your body can't make the DNA and amino acids it needs. This is a concern when we are making new body cells during pregnancy and early childhood.

Eating high-folate foods also may reduce your chances of developing:

  • Anemia (reduced number of red blood cells)

  • Heart disease

  • Stroke

  • Cancer

  • Memory problems

How much folate do I need?

People who are 19 years old and older need 400 micrograms (µg) of folate a day. Pregnant women need an extra 200µg and nursing moms need an extra 100µg a day.

To get 400µg of folate, you can eat foods that are naturally high in folate, as well as foods that are fortified with folic acid. If you aren't getting enough of this vitamin from the foods you eat, you can take a multivitamin that contains folic acid.

Table 2. 

How much is 400 micrograms?

Micro means small, and 400 micrograms is a very small amount! One teaspoon of sugar weighs about 5 grams, or 5 million micrograms! So you would need about 12,500 times 400 micrograms to fill a teaspoon with sugar. No wonder folate is called a micronutrient!

Here are some foods and the amount of folate they contain:

Table 3. 

FOOD

FOLATE

(µg/serving)

Fortified cereal, 1 serving

100 - 400

Spinach, ½ cup cooked

100

Peanuts, dry roasted ½ cup

80

Kidney beans, ½ cup cooked

60

Romaine, 1 cup shredded

75

Orange juice, 3/4 cup (from concentrate)

55

Orange, 1 medium

45

Where can I get more information?

A registered dietitian or your local county Extension office may have more written information and nutrition classes for you to attend.

Call your local Area Agency on Aging for information about meal programs and other services for older adults that may be offered in your area.

Reliable nutrition information may be found on the Internet at the following sites:

http://www.nutrition.gov

http://seniors.gov

http://mayohealth.org

http://folicacidinfo.org/

http://www.aoa.gov

Footnotes

1.

La versión en español de este documento es Alimentación Saludable:Ácido Fólico (FCS8567-Span). This document is FCS8567, 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, Gainesville, FL 32611. First published: September 1999. Revised: October 2007.

2.

Linda B. Bobroff, Ph.D., RD, LD/N, professor, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

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.