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Folic Acid
Folic Acid Home > All Women, Every Day
All Women, Every Day

Photo of young woman roller skatingWhat is folic acid?
  

As a woman, you need folic acid every day, whether you’re planning to get pregnant or not, for the healthy new cells your body makes daily. Think about your skin, hair, and nails. These—and other parts of your body—make new cells each day.

You might think that you can get all the folic acid and other vitamins you need from the food you eat each day. But it is hard to eat a diet that has all the nutrients you need every day. Even with careful planning, you might not get all the vitamins you need from your diet alone. That’s why it’s important to take a vitamin with folic acid every day.

Today’s woman is busy! You know that you should exercise, eat right, and get enough sleep. You might wonder how you can fit another thing into your day. But it only takes a few seconds to take a vitamin to get all the folic acid you need!

Make it easy to remember. Try taking a vitamin when you brush your teeth. Or take it with your breakfast, after your shower, or when you brush your hair. Seeing the vitamin bottle on the bathroom or kitchen counter can help you remember it, too. If you have children, take your vitamin when they take theirs. That sets a good example!

You can get your vitamin with folic acid in one of several ways. You can take a multivitamin or a small, single supplement of folic acid. These days, multivitamins with folic acid come in chewable chocolate or fruit flavors, liquids, and large oval or smaller round pills. Many stores offer a single folic acid supplement for just pennies a day. Another good choice is a store brand multivitamin, which includes most of the vitamins you need each day. Unless your doctor suggests a special type, you do not need to choose among vitamins for women or active people, or even to go with a low carbohydrate diet. A basic multivitamin meets the needs of most women.

A single serving of many breakfast cereals also has the amount of folic acid that you need each day. Check the label! Look for cereals that have 100% daily value (DV) of folic acid in a serving.

Think back to when you were a child and you took your vitamin—how easy it was to chew up that fruit-flavored tablet in the fun shape of your favorite cartoon character. You may have been told: “Take your vitamin. It’s good for you.” Today, taking a vitamin with folic acid is just as easy—and just as good for you!

Date: January 28, 2008
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

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