Folic Acid (Methylfolate)

100% clean formula.

Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. All Ethical Nutrition products are free from animal-based ingredients and by-products. Registered with the vegan society. 

Free-from: GMOs, Magnesium Stearate, Gelatin, Palm Oil/Palm Oil Derivatives, Maltodextrin, Bulking Agents, Titanium Dioxide, Sugar. 

Allergen-free: totally free from gluten and allergen containing ingredients.

Additive-free: We don't use any nasty additives and where required we use gluten-free rice extract to help us to blend together ingredients and ensure they are accurately dosed.

Folic Acid/Methylfolate, such as those in our Ethical Nutrition product, offer several significant health benefits:

1. Promotes Foetal Development: Folic acid is a crucial nutrient during pregnancy, as it aids in the proper development of the baby's neural tube. It helps prevent major birth defects of the baby's brain and spine [1].
2. Helps in Red Blood Cell Formation: Folic acid is essential for the body to make DNA and RNA and metabolize amino acids necessary for cell division. It is particularly critical in aiding the rapid cell division and growth seen in infancy and pregnancy [2].
3. Supports Mental Health: A deficiency of folic acid may lead to depression and other mental health problems. Supplementing with Methylfolate can assist in maintaining adequate levels of this vital nutrient [3].
4. Heart Health: Adequate intake of folic acid, along with B6 and B12, may help reduce levels of homocysteine, a protein in your blood. High levels of homocysteine are linked with an increased risk of coronary heart disease [4].

Folic acid and methylfolate might appear similar at first glance, but they are indeed different.

Folic acid is a synthetic form. On the other hand, methylfolate is a naturally occurring substance found in various foods and also in our bodies.

Their major difference lies in how the body utilizes them. Methylfolate is bioactive, meaning it's immediately usable by your body.

On the contrary, folic acid needs to be converted into methylfolate before the body can use it. Some individuals carry a genetic mutation that reduces their ability to convert folic acid into methylfolate, which can potentially lead to a deficiency even with adequate intake of folic acid.

By supplementing with methylfolate, this potential problem can be bypassed, ensuring your body gets the readily usable form it requires [5].

Everyone can benefit from maintaining adequate levels of folate.

It plays a crucial role in cell growth and development, red blood cell formation, and maintaining heart health.

It is particularly important for women of reproductive age, as it aids in neural tube development during pregnancy [8].

Ex: Shipping and return policies, size guides, and other common questions.

1. Rothenberg, S. P., & da Costa, M. P. (2012). Folate and homocysteine metabolism in neural plasticity and neurodegenerative disorders. Trends in Neurosciences, 35(3), 179-188.
2. Institute of Medicine (US) Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes and its Panel on Folate, Other B Vitamins, and Choline. (1998). Folate. Dietary reference intakes for thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, biotin, and choline. National Academies Press, 196-305.
3. Coppen, A., & Bolander-Gouaille, C. (2005). Treatment of depression: time to consider folic acid and vitamin B12. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 19(1), 59-65.
4. Homocysteine Studies Collaboration. (2002). Homocysteine and risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke: a meta-analysis. JAMA, 288(16), 2015-2022.
5. Frosst, P., Blom, H. J., Milos, R., Goyette, P., Sheppard, C. A., Matthews, R. G., ... & Rozen, R. (1995). A candidate genetic risk factor for vascular disease: a common mutation in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. Nature Genetics, 10(1), 111-113.
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (1992). Recommendations for the use of folic acid to reduce the number of cases of spina bifida and other neural tube defects. MMWR. Recommendations and Reports: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Recommendations and Reports, 41(RR-14), 1-7.
7. Scaglione, F., & Panzavolta, G. (2014). Folate, folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate are not the same thing. Xenobiotica, 44(5), 480-488.
8. Shere, M., Nguyen, P., Tam, C., Stern, S., & Kaptein, J. (2015). Maternal serum folate species in early pregnancy and risk of preterm birth. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 102(4), 943-949.