FOLIC ACID - (B-Complex Vitamin)

DESCRIPTION: A water-soluble nutrient and is easily destroyed by heat in the presence of an acid. It is especially important for women of child-bearing age to guard against neural tube defects in their children. It decreases when food is stored at a room temperature.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS: Folic acid works along with vitamin B12 and vitamin C to help the body break down, use, and create new proteins. The vitamin helps form red blood cells and helps produce DNA, the building block of the human body, which carries genetic information. Folic acid also helps tissues grow and cells work

POTENTIAL INTERACTION: Oral contraceptives may increase the need for folic acid. When consuming alcohol, it may lower absorption of folic acid by the body.

GENERAL USAGE: May be taken daily.

FOOD SOURCES: Alfalfa sprouts, apricots, asparagus, avocado, barley, beans, bee pollen, beef, beet greens, bran, Brewer's yeast, broccoli, brown rice, buckwheat sprouts, cantaloupe, cauliflower, citrus fruits, cheese, chickpeas, chicken, comfrey leaf, cucumber, dates, kelp, fruits, vegetables (green, leafy), lamb, lentils, liver, milk, oranges, organ meats, split peas, peas, pork, rice, root vegetables, salmon, soybeans, spinach, spirulina, all kinds of sprouts, tuna, wheatgerm, wheatgrass, whole grains, whole wheat and yeast.