Is there really a difference between folic acid received free of charge in the community and more than 400 folic acid?
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Mothers all know that folic acid is very important, which can prevent fetal neural tube defects and has many benefits for pregnant women and fetuses.
Don’t other people need supplements except during pregnancy? Where is more than 400 folic acid better than 10 yuan folic acid? What is the difference between OTC folic acid and folic acid in health food?
Xiao Lizi will take a look at all kinds of folic acid supplements today to see which one is the ultimate cost-effective choice.
According to the China Residents’ Dietary Nutrient Reference Intake Scale, most adults need 400μg folic acid every day, and pregnant women and lactating women need to take an extra 200μg and 150μg folic acid.
There are many food sources of folic acid: dark vegetables, animal livers, beans, nuts and other foods are rich.
However, the folic acid intake of Chinese people is far from enough. A study on dietary vitamin intake of China residents from 2010 to 2012 showed that folic acid intake was 180.9μg, and the adequacy ratio was only 9.0%.
▲ A good source of folic acid. Daily soul torture: Have you finished half a catty of fruit and one catty of vegetables recommended by the dietary guidelines?
For pregnant mothers and lactating women, it is more important to supplement enough folic acid in time to prevent fetal malformation. Guidelines for folic acid supplementation to prevent neural tube defects during perinatal period (2017) suggest that:
● Healthy pregnant women should supplement 400μg or 800μg folic acid daily from the possible pregnancy or at least 3 months before pregnancy until the third month of pregnancy [2].
● Women with malabsorption, diabetes, obesity and birth history of neural tube defects have higher demand. Please consult a doctor for details [2].
No.
Dad-to-be can also make up together. Lack of folic acid may lead to poor sperm quality, and most literatures agree that folic acid may improve sperm quality. Therefore, when pregnant, husband and wife can make up together and remind each other that they are not afraid to forget.
Patients with cardiovascular diseases. Many studies have shown that folic acid supplementation through diet and/or supplements can prevent coronary heart disease and reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke [3].
Among the 30 folic acid products evaluated this time, there are 23 common folic acid and 7 active folic acid. We calculated their average values respectively, and found that the price difference is really not a little bit-
▲ There are few active folic acid products involved in this evaluation, and the data are for reference only.
Folic acid must be metabolized into active folic acid in the body to play its role, and 5- methyltetrahydrofolate is one of the active folic acids.
This metabolic process requires the participation of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, and the MTHFR gene expressing this enzyme is polymorphic. About 1/4 of the people in China expressed MTHFR gene with low activity of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase.
This group of people may take 400μg of common folic acid every day, but the supplement effect is not significant.
There are also some studies showing that taking active folic acid (5- methyltetrahydrofolate) may be effective for women with MTHFR gene mutation.
For friends who know their MTHFR gene mutation through genetic testing, resulting in low activity of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, we suggest:
● According to the doctor’s advice, the dosage of common folic acid can be increased from 400μg to 800μg, for example.
● You can also directly choose to supplement active folic acid.
▲ Bully me for not knowing chemistry.
But for people who have no problem with folic acid metabolism, ordinary folic acid is enough. The recommended intake of folic acid given in dietary guidelines has taken into account the absorption rate of folic acid and dietary sources, so there is no need to pursue active folic acid.
Except active folic acid, the price of common folic acid is also very different. The lowest 0.1 yuan /400μg, and the highest 0.8 yuan /400μg# almost catch up with the price of some active folic acid #.
Some people may think that "the price is so low, the quality is definitely not good?"
▲ Left: 0.8 yuan/400μ g; Right: 0.3 yuan/400μ g.
Folic acid supplement is a kind of product with mature production technology and supply from raw materials to finished products. The price has little to do with product quality and effect.
Perhaps high-priced folic acid is more of a comfort to consumers, so there will be no worries about "so cheap, the quality is definitely not good".
In this evaluation, imported folic acid supplements are generally dietary supplements (health food), while most domestic folic acid supplements have an "OTC" logo, and a few are health food with a blue hat logo.
As soon as many people see "OTC" (over-the-counter drugs), they feel that products as medicines must be safer and more reassuring; There are also many marketing articles with little knowledge that OTC is safer, and take it as a selling point.
▲ Don’t you see that advertisements are also promoted like this?
The fact is not that simple. Here is a common sense question to share with you.
Health food is food first. When studying the formula and production, the effect may vary from person to person, but we must ensure the safety of long-term consumption.
OTC, that is, over-the-counter drugs, are drugs first. As a drug, curative effect is an important goal. Sometimes, a certain degree of safety can be sacrificed for curative effect (of course, OTC drugs are much safer than prescription drugs).
However, in the case of common folic acid products, due to the mature supply of raw materials and simple preparation process, there will be no obvious difference in supplementary efficacy between OTC and health food products, which are both common folic acid tablets. The difference between the two is more the difference of product laws and regulations, and the difference of sales channels and promotion methods brought about by it.
▲ As for the choice of tablets, folic acid supplements on the market are mostly tablets and less capsules. After reading the ingredients list, the difference is that there is no obvious difference in the price of the capsule shell outside. Mainly depends on personal acceptance of different dosage forms.
Selection guide:
1. Look at the dosage: Generally, people can choose 400μg folic acid supplement. People with other needs suggest consulting a doctor before choosing the dosage that suits them.
2. Cost performance: Although folic acid supplements are not expensive, save some money to buy fruit?
If you buy it yourself, you can refer to the products in the table, which have been arranged for you from high to low in price ~
Many people will choose multivitamins containing folic acid. You can read this article for multivitamin products suitable for pregnancy preparation and pregnancy. Of course, the most economical thing is to go to the community to get free folic acid. # Is there anyone who doesn’t know that folic acid will be distributed free of charge in the community? #
references
[1] He Yuna, Wang Zhu, Zhao Liyun. Dietary vitamin intake of China residents from 2010 to 2012 [J]. Journal of Nutrition, 2017,39 (2): 112-115.
[2] Working Group on guidelines for folic acid supplementation to prevent neural tube defects during pregnancy. Guidelines for folic acid supplementation to prevent neural tube defects during pregnancy (2017) [J]. China Journal of Reproductive Health, 2017,28 (5): 401-410.
[3] Cardiovascular Disease Committee of Chinese Rehabilitation Medical Association, Clinical Nutrition Branch of China Nutrition Society, Differentiation of Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases of Chinese Preventive Medical Association. Expert Consensus on Nutrition Prescription for Cardiovascular Diseases [J]. China Circulation Journal, 2014,29:124-130.
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The above information is only popular science and should not be regarded as medical advice.
Can not replace the doctor’s individualized judgment on a specific patient.
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Original title: "Is there really a difference between folic acid received free of charge in the community and more than 400 folic acid?" 》
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