Highlight and Important Nutrient: Folate

With summer getting off to a wet start here in the Front Range I thought I would highlight what should be a big player in our daily food. Whether we grill, blend, toss or stir fry I suggest letting foods high in folate guide your daily food choices, here’s why…

Folate is a B vitamin needed for several kep processes of the body. The production of neurotransmitters and nervous system health and balance rely on this nutrient.  Folate is required for recycling homocysteine to methionine, thus lowering this marker of cardiovascular disease and in the production of nitric oxide a powerful molecule for managing healthy blood flow and blood pressure.  Folate is also needed for red blood cell production and for proper development of the nervous system in a developing fetus.

The most active forms of folate are found in foods, there are several forms of this B vitamin found in nature, however our enriched foods only provide 1 form, an inactive form called folic acid. It is always best to seek out a whole foods form of any nutrient when possible and by eating more naturally occurring folate you also benefit by eating more fiber, prebiotics, vitamins and minerals and plenty of low calorie nutrient-rich plant food.

Here is more information about folate and a chart of folate content in foods. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=63#foodchart