Scientists have concluded that folic acid (vitamin B9 in the form of a dietary supplement) and folate, which is found in green vegetables, are useful not only for pregnant women, as previously thought, but in general for all women to maintain good health. It has been established that folate is generally necessary for the female body – even if the woman does not plan to have children at all. It is important both for the normal functioning of the digestive system and for appearance – it affects the condition of the skin and hair; and besides, it has a positive effect on the composition of the blood and reduces the risk of vascular sclerosis.
Doctors previously believed that folic acid protected against fetal defects and for this reason, they recommended and still recommend taking it daily during pregnancy or if pregnancy is planned in an amount of 400 mg (standard concentration for a dietary supplement).
At the same time, taking folic acid in the form of a dietary supplement can sometimes lead to disastrous consequences. The fact is that you should not exceed the recommended dosage: for example, if you take a special nutritional supplement a little, then you can easily exceed the desired concentration. Experiments on rats have shown that an excess of folic acid increases the risk of breast cancer in women! This problem is now very relevant in the US, where the use of nutritional supplements is sometimes overly popular.
But you can – and you should! – consume folic acid not from pills, but in the form of folate – from raw and vegan foods, including greens, whole grains, beans and citrus fruits. However, if you consume a lot of plant foods containing folate, then the need for an additive is eliminated. At the same time, the chances of getting an undesirably high dose of folate are minimal. In addition, scientists have found that if a woman does not consume alcohol, then the risk of cancer, even when consuming an excessive amount of folate, is reduced by another half.
In order to always be healthy and beautiful, it is useful for women to include more folate-rich foods in their diet, such as peanuts, beans, spinach, green wild garlic, lettuce, leeks, horseradish, porcini mushrooms and champignons, broccoli, almonds and walnuts and hazelnuts.