High folic acid food content is less important than the bioavailability of folates in various foods. Although certain nutrients are found in foods many are not in an easily absorbed form. If the nutrient exists in a food but in a form that is not used by the human body that is a problem. Folates are often in an unusable or less bioavailability form.

It is for this reason that the term Dietary Folate Equivalent was coined. This represents the amount of folates found in an easily absorbable form. So don’t be confused by the term--DFE is just the usable amount of folic acid in a food.

Folic acid is rarely taken in toxic levels in the United States. Folic acid is water soluble and water soluble vitamins are excreted in the urine when high amounts are consumed. An upper safe level of daily intake has been established at 1000 mcg per day.

That being said, it is interesting to note that importation of vegemite, a vegetable condiment from Australia, was limited to smaller containers because it contained too much folic acid. It can only be purchased in containers of less than 4 ounces in the United States.

Other foods like chicken liver supply very large amounts of folates. One chicken liver supplies 113 mcg of DFE. Since 400 mcg fills the recommended dietary allowance per day of folic acid for adult men, 3 to 4 chicken livers would take care of that nutritional requirement.

How many people stare at the giblet package in their frozen turkey purchase wondering why it is even included? Well one answer is that it supplies a whopping 486 mcg of folic acid per cooked cup. That almost fulfills the daily folic acid needs of pregnant women who needs 600 mcg. It is estimated that the fortification of all grains products in the U.S. adds another 100 mcg per day.

So if a pregnant women eats the turkey giblets and a normal amount of grain products and a small salad made with some baby spinach she’ll have fulfilled her folate needs for the day. The spinach provides about 58 mcg per cup, by the way.

Texturized vegetable protein (TVP) made from soy bean can be a good source of folic acid for those who are avoiding red meat. One burger made from TVP supplies 246 mcg of folic acid. If served on a burger roll that provides another 73 mcg. So far that’s 319 mcg from one sandwich. A leaf of romaine will add 14 mcg bringing that total to 333 mcg.

By contrast the same basic sandwich made with two beef hamburger patties only supplies 111 mcg of folic acid. A lot more calories are supplied by the fast food sandwich but it falls shorter in folic acid.

Because of the 1998 requirement that all grains produced in the United States be fortified with folic acid a diet that includes healthy amounts of grains will probably supply enough folate. Certain breakfast cereals will supply a day’s worth of folic acid in a single serving.

As a rule of thumb, if it has a lot of sugar in the box it doesn’t have much folic acid. If its packaging is health conscious, however, it supplies most if not all folic acid intake needs in a single serving.

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