You should eat these delicious folic acid foods regularly!
Moms and pregnant women are well aware of folic acid. This is one of the first preparations that the gynecologist prescribes.
But folic acid foods are also enormously important for all other women. We tell you why and in which foods you can find especially much of it.
Table of contents
Why you should eat a lot of folic acid
By the way, folic acid is also called folate or vitamin B9 (in Germany and the USA) or vitamin B11 (worldwide designation). These are one and the same vitamin. It is water-soluble, heat-sensitive and light-sensitive.
It is involved in cell division and development. Our body builds new cells around the clock, so we should eat folic acid foods every day.
But folate is also involved in the formation of DNA. In addition, vitamin B9 plays an important role in our protein and fat metabolism. Folic acid also plays a role in the formation of blood cells.
However, our body cannot produce the vital vitamin itself. We have to take it in through our diet.
The best folic acid foods
- Chickpeas
- Soybeans
- Kale and lamb's lettuce
- Nuts especially peanuts and almonds
- Green leafy vegetables, spinach
- Asparagus
- Cherries
- Whole grain products
- Wheat Germ
If you eat a balanced and healthy diet, you should be able to meet your needs through nutrition.
Legumes as folic acid foods
Peas, lentils, beans - simply delicious! How often do you eat legumes? Too seldom, guaranteed. Or? Yet pulses are a good substitute for meat in stews and roasts.
In our office we regularly have delicious recipes with legumes. Until now, however, we did not know that we provide our body with wonderful folic acid :)
First place, and really by a wide margin, goes to chickpeas. You can prepare hummus, stews, patties, goulash and so much more.
You simply must try this oriental chickpea salad!
Pulses containing folic acid per 100 grams
- Chickpeas 340 µg folic acid
- Lima beans 340 µg folic acid
- Soybeans 250 µg folic acid
- White beans 200 µg folic acid
- Lentils 170 µg folic acid
- Peas 160 µg folic acid
- Mung bean 140 µg folic acid
- Kidney beans 135 µg folic acid
- Green beans 70 µg folic acid
For that extra load of folate, you can combine vitamin B9 foods in a recipe. How about a delicious goulash with beans and chickpeas?
Delicious pumpkin goulash with chickpeas and beans
Foods containing folic acid: vegetables
First place among folic acid foods goes to kale. With 190 µg, it tops the list, leaving all other foods far behind.
You can put kale in smoothies, then it will contain the most folate. As soon as you heat the kale, the B9 content also disappears.
Vegetables with particularly high folic acid per 100 grams
- Kale 190 µg folic acid
- Lamb's lettuce and spinach 145 µg folic acid
- Broccoli 111 µg folic acid
- Endive lettuce 110 µg folic acid
- Asparagus 108 µg folic acid
- Leeks, Brussels sprouts and oak leaf lettuce 100 µg folic acid
- Cauliflower 90 µg folic acid
- Bell bell pepper red 60 µg folic acid
Nuts and seeds with a lot of vitamin B9
On the salad, in muesli or simply as a snack in between - nuts and seeds are simply the hammer :) Yes, they contain quite a few calories and we should not overdo it when eating.
However, nuts and fats also provide a lot of unsaturated fatty acids - healthy fats.
You can mix a whole lot of nuts into homemade bread. So many, in fact, that you don't need any flour at all.
3 delicious recipes for protein bread with extra folic acid!
Nuts and seeds with a lot of vitamin B9 per 100 grams
- Peanuts 170 µg folic acid
- Poppy and sunflower seeds 100 µg folic acid
- Almonds 96 µg folic acid
- Walnuts 77 µg folic acid
- Hazelnuts 70 µg folic acid
- Cashews* 68 µg folic acid
You can also find many nuts in crunchy muesli. Of course, in the homemade version. Because that's how it tastes really good!
This is how easy it is to make your own crunchy muesli!
Fruit as folic acid food
We should eat two portions of fruit per day. One serving is roughly equivalent to a well-filled hand. Is that hard for you? Then try cutting an apple into your muesli in the morning. Mix a banana into your smoothie.
And treat yourself to a piece of fruit in the afternoon. Often we have to trick ourselves into eating healthy more easily.
Fruit contains a lot of vitamins. Folic acid is one of them. But not in the large quantities found in vegetables and legumes, for example.
The advantage with fruits is that you eat them raw. Thus, the folic acid content remains high, because it is not destroyed by heating.
Fruits containing folic acid per 100 gram
- Sour cherries 75 µg folic acid
- Cherries 52 µg folic acid
- Strawberries 43 µg folic acid
- Orange 42 µg folic acid
- Grapes 40 µg folic acid
- Mango 36 µg folic acid
- Blackberry 34 µg folic acid
- Raspberry 30 µg folic acid
Cereals and pseudocereals as foods rich in folic acid
Wonderful sources of folic acid are cereals and pseudocereals of all kinds. Go for whole grains if you want to get the full load of vitamin B9.
100 grams of wholemeal bread contain up to 40 µg of folic acid. White flour only 10 µg.
Mmhh delicious! Whole wheat pancake with peach and goat cheese!
Oatmeal, quinoa, rye, wheat - incorporate different grains and pseudo grains into your diet. In this way, you cover a folate requirement quite naturally.
Especially from oatmeal you can easily conjure up a whole range of delicious recipes. From savory patties to juicy, fruity breakfast muffins.
Juicy breakfast muffins with oatmeal and blueberries
The same goes for quinoa. From sweet to spicy, everything is possible.
Cereals with lots of vitamin B9 per 100 grams
- Wheat germ 520 µg folic acid
- Wheat bran 200 µg folic acid
- Quinoa 185 µg folic acid
- Rye 140 µg folic acid
- Wheat (whole grain) 87 µg folic acid
- Amaranth 82 µg folic acid
- Oatmeal 87 µg folic acid
- Buckwheat 50 µg folic acid
Dairy products with a lot of folate
Dairy products are also suppliers of folic acid. Especially cheese lovers can fill up their vitamin B9 stores well.
Dairy products are otherwise known as calcium suppliers. At the same time, they also provide folate. Not in huge amounts, but still in good quantities.
Dairy products as folic acid food per 100 grams
- Brie 80 µg folic acid
- Camembert 65 µg folic acid
- Gouda 21 µg folic acid
- Chester cheese 19 µg folic acid
- Yogurt 13 µg folic acid
Offal as a food containing folic acid
Yeah, I know. It's gross. And I even find it mega gross as a vegetarian. But you should know that offal of all kinds contains lots of folic acid.
The content is particularly high in liver.
Offal with a lot of folic acid per 100 grams
- Duck liver 700 µg folic acid
- Chicken liver 391 µg folic acid
- Turkey liver 300 µg folic acid
- Calf's liver 247 µg folic acid
- Beef liver 226 µg folic acid
- Pork liver 141 µg folic acid
Other
Everything that somehow had no place with the other foods, you will find here. After all, we don't want to keep it from you. The content of these foods can be seen.
Folic acid food per 100 gram
- Yeast 716 µg folic acid
- Hen's egg 130 µg folic acid
- Parsley 116 µg folic acid
- Cress 110 µg folic acid
- Chives 80 µg folic acid
- Orange 42 µg folic acid
- Cocoa powder* 38 µg folic acid
How to treat folic acid foods properly
Caution: Folic acid is very sensitive to heat, light and air.
If you store or process the food incorrectly, that's it for the folic acid.
Any type of prepared food - no matter how many folic acid foods are in it, contains very little of the vitamin.
Homemade is always a good choice. However, you can still eat as much folic acid-containing foods as you like, if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, none of this will help.
Vitamin B12 activates folic acid in the body.
Do you have a vitamin B12 deficiency? Do the check!
How much folic acid you need per day
It is difficult to cover the need for folic acid with the diet. We all eat too one-sided. And too little fresh food - that is, food that comes straight from the tree or from the earth. Without storage times.
And then we have the problem that our intestines can only absorb about 25 percent of the folic acid we eat.
For adults, the requirement is 300 micrograms per day.
A healthy adult has about 15 mg of folic acid stored in the liver. Our body draws on this store when we eat too little folic acid food.
Vitamin B9 foods should be on your menu if you are pregnant or planning to have a baby.
It is said to be easier to get pregnant if the folic acid requirement is met. During pregnancy, the daily requirement is 550 micrograms.
The reason for this is that your body needs the B vitamin for the cell division of the child. If you have a deficiency during pregnancy, your baby may suffer from nerve damage or an "open back".
How to recognize folic acid deficiency
The problem with folic acid deficiency is that the symptoms are very unspecific. From loss of appetite, paleness, bad mood, diarrhea, hair loss to concentration problems and irritability, just about anything is possible.
By the way, vitamin B9 deficiency is not rare. 4 out of 5 Germans suffer from it. Women in particular are affected. This is mainly due to menstruation.
Only a doctor can determine whether you have a deficiency. For this, a blood test is made, which gives information. Diagnosing yourself and taking supplements is not a good idea.
It's different if you add lots of folic acid foods to your diet. They can't hurt. And provide many other important nutrients at the same time.
Our conclusion
Make sure you eat enough folic acid foods. Many women have a deficiency. If you eat a healthy and balanced diet, it should not be a problem to meet your needs. However, many women have a folic acid deficiency.
If you suspect it, have the doctor check it out with a blood test.
Meal and enjoy! :)
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