Why is “folate” or “folic acid” extremely important for persons with mental health problems?
What foods should we encourage our patients to eat in order to get enough folates in the diet?
What do these different terms mean? Folate, dihydrofolate, folic acid, folinic acid, L-methylfolate
Five Facts about Folates
(It is fun using alliteration on this page!)
1. The term “Folate” refers to a group of related compounds, so it should really be “Folates,” in the plural.
2. Why are folates so important in the body? The most important thing for us mental health clinicians is their role in the brain and in regulating the formation of neurotransmitters. They also have much broader roles. Folates are needed for making nucleic acids and for the metabolism of amino acids. And because of this, they are important for cell growth, cell reproduction, maturation of red blood cells, and so on.
3. Folates, taken as a group, are one of the 13 “essential” vitamins. The term “essential” means that they cannot be made in the body and, therefore, they must be taken in the diet. So, intake of folates in the diet is extremely important for the body and for the brain in particular.
4. The significance of knowing whether a vitamin is water soluble or fat soluble is that an excess of a water-soluble vitamin is excreted in the urine. Only small quantities can be stored in the body. Folates are water-soluble, so they cannot be stored in the body in large quantities. So, we have to have a relatively steady intake of folates in the diet.
Add these facts together, and you have to ask, “What could go wrong?!” That’s why mental health clinicians need to understand more about the role of folates in mental health.
5. Folates come in different forms, of which three are forms in which folates can be taken as a supplement. BUT, as you will see below, all three supplements are not created equal.
Next, let’s go over the four forms of folates: Dihydrofolate, Folic acid, Folinic acid, and L-methylfolate
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