Folate is a water-soluble B vitamin. It is not the lastest vitamin
which has just been found ,in fact, it was found since 1941. The word
"folate" is from latin word "folium" that means "leaf" since leafy
green vegetables are the greatest source of this nutrient.
At present, more people are familiar with "folate"
because they find or hear this name almost everywhere
such as on product in supermarket, advertisement on radio
or television, etc. Why traders use it as selling point?
What are the benefits that meet the consumer need?
Folate VS Neural Tube Defects
According to researches, folate is essential for pregnancy
since the body needs it to develop neural tube. Lacking of folate
during the first three months of pregnancy can be cause of disability
of baby's brain while lacking this nutrient during the last three months
can be cause and risk of spina bifida in children. In addition,
the studies in many countries such as in Europe,
Canada and Israel show that taking at least 0.4 mg/day is
good for foetus because it can reduce risk of
neural tube defects.
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Folate VS Heart Disease
Nowadays, heart disease is a main cause of death especially
in industrial countries like USA and developing countries.
Not only the increasing of LDL, high blood pressure,
low HDL level, diabetes and obesity, epidemiological studies
have shown that too much homocysteine (amino acid in blood)
in the plasma is related to a higher risk of coronary heart disease,
stroke and peripheral vascular disease because high homocysteine
levels in the blood can make blood clot more easily than it should.
This can increase the risk of blood vessel blockages that link to
a stroke. It might also make a problem with blood flow,
such as atherosclerosis, worse.
Several researches have found that B vitamins particularly
folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 help to lower homocysteine
level in the body. Please make sure that you get enough folic acid,
vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 in your diet.
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Folate VS Cancer
According to several researches, low folate level
can link to cancer since folate is essential for synthesis,
restoration and function of DNA. Lacking of folate means
damage of DNA. People with this condition have a very
high risk of develping cancer particularly of breast,
pancreatic and colon.
However, there is no explicit evidence indicating
that shortage of folate is a major cause of cancer. So,
taking instant folic acid to reduce the risk of being
cancer is not recommended until the studies
about its side effect will succeed.
Folate can be generally found in all leafy green
vegetables such as chinese kale, chinese chive flower,
parsley, cabbage and cauliflower. In addition, orange,
cultivated banana, Manila tamarind, dry beans, soybean
powder, sunflower seeds, tomato and liver are also
the rich sources of folate.
As folate is a water-soluble vitamin, it can be lost while cooking.
That is why it is important to know how to cook. For example, if you
prefer boiled vegetable, boil or scald it in a pot containing little of water.
Do not forget to serve this boiled water during meal because there is
also folate in the water. However, steamed vegetables are recommended
because by this way, folate is still in your dish more than
using the other cooking methods.
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