Folic acid is also called folate. It is water soluble vitamin B and is naturally present in some food. Folic acid is the most important part of human diet especially for women’s. This acid is considered as one of the most luscious micronutrients. It contains the synthetic form of vitamin-B. Foods like cereals, flour, bread, cookeries contain folic acid. Natural food like leafy vegetables, spinach, and broccoli contains folic acid fruits to be a source of folic acid. Folic acid helps in treating the blood level. It also treats various complications in blood like anaemia. It is the most important part of the diet for women’s during the time of pregnancy. It prevents miscarriage, birth defects. Folic acid prevents colonel cancer and cervical cancer. It is also treated as people with memory loss, hearing loss, muscular degeneration. The acid helps people’s suffering from insomnia, nerve pain, muscular pain and skin diseases. Here in this article, we will discuss foods high in folic acid.
Foods High in Folic Acid:
1.) Cereals Best Source of Folic Acid
If we are talking about the foods high in folic acid than cereals are the great way to start the day. Fortified cereals are the great source of folic acid. It is important to give a great start to your day. Most of the cereals contain 400 mcg of folic acid. You can have a bowl of fortified cereals every morning with low-fat milk, yogurt. Add some fruits like apple, strawberries to your bowl of cereals.
2.) Broccoli for Folate
Broccoli is considered as the great source of folic acid. According to calculation, a cup of broccoli provides 24% of your daily diet of folic acid. Lightly steamed broccoli or raw is considered as the great source of this acid. You can have raw broccoli or steam it and have it every day. You can also have them with salads.
3.) Green Leafy Vegetables Best Source of Folic Acid
The green leafs are the foods high in folic acid content.They are rich with this helpful acid. The strongest source of folic acids is the green leafy vegetables like the collard greens, kale, romaine lettuce and turnip greens. Here is the amount of folic acid in per cup in mcg unit(micrograms).
- Spinach- 263 mcg
- Turnip- 177 mcg
- Collard greens- 177 mcg
- Mustard greens- 103 mcg
- Lettuce- 76 mcg.
4.) Take Lentil High in Folic Acid
Lentils are considered as one of the most folic acid dense food. the lentils are types of pulse and a member of the legume family. They are easy and quick to prepare. They are brown or green in colour and are sold as whole seeds or split once. You can boil them for 15-20 minutes add spices and take them as a soup or can have them with rice.
5.) Spinach Top Source of Folic Acid
Apart from other green vegetables, spinach is a rich source of folic acid. This green leaf is popular sourse of folic acid. A cup of cooked spinach contains 200 mcg of folate. You can have boiled spinach with sprinkles over it or just add chopped spinach to an egg on the top of potatoes to fry.
6.) Asparagus Rich in Folic Acid
Asparagus is a woody vegetable. They are succulent and tender. They are highly priced and available during the spring. This seasonal vegetable is considered as a botanical medicine. It is considered as a dense food with folic acid and other nutrients. A cup of asparagus gives you 262 mcg of folic acid. Thus, it is one of the richest sources of folate.Avocado
7.) Avocado Fruit Rich in Folic Acid
This healthy fruit contains a high amount of folic acid. Avocado is famous for its nutritional value. The fruit holds 90 mcg of folic acid per cup. Add them to your sandwiches or salad to fulfil your folate intake. It is also a rich source of vitamins, minerals fatty acids too.
8.) Beets Roots Rich in Folic Acid
Beet is also called as beetroot. Beets are a rich source of folic acid. It is an ancient, prehistoric food which grew naturally in North Africa, Asia and Europe. It is sweet in taste. They also are sources of antioxidants and help to detox. A cup of boiled beet provides 136 mcg of folic acid, which is 34% of your daily folate needs. You can add this vegetable to your daily meal or just taste the sweetness of the beet by making a salad out of it.
9.) Seeds and Nuts Rich in Folic Acid
Take seeds of pumpkin, sesame sunflower or have some peanuts or cashew for your daily dose of folic acid. Here is the list of seeds and nuts along with the amount of folate in mcg (micrograms).
- ¼ cup Sunflower seeds – 82 mcg of folate
- ¼ cup Peanuts – 88 mcg
- 2 tablespoon Flax seeds – 54mcg
- 1 cup Almonds – 46 mcg
Out of this peanuts and almonds are high in folic content.
10.) Cowpeas for Folic acid
Cowpeas are one of the most important food legume crop. They are one of the foods high in folic acid. A 100 gram of this vegetable provides you 46% of folic acid. These beans are tasty and can be taken in various ways. You can add them to your salad or make a soup out of it.
11.) Brussels Sprouts High in Folic Acid
Brussels sprouts are typical vegetables which look life tiny cabbage. This vegetable is named so as it was popular in Brussels Belgium. Raw Brussels contain a high amount of folic acid. It is also a source of other necessary vitamins and minerals. A cup of brussel sprout gives you 25% of your daily recommended amount of folic acid. This buds can be cooked, boiled or roasted. You can also stir fry or grill the sprout.
12.) Squash for Folic Acid
Squash is not a popular vegetable in your family it is one of the foods high in Folic Acid. You can add squash to your diet and get the recommended amount of folic acid. This vegetable is of two types based on the season, they are winter squash and summer squash. Both are the best source of folate. A cup of winter squash contains 57 mcg of folate and 1 cup of summer squash contains 36 mcg of folate. So add this food to your diet.
13.) Carrot Rich Source of Folic Acid
Carrot is a very popular root vegetable it is usually orange in colour or red, yellow or purple in colour. The vegetable has a crisp texture. you can take fresh carrots with salad or else add them to your veggies. A cup of carrot gives you 5% of daily recommended need of folic acid. Baby carrots are a tasty delight for foodies. You can eat them as snacks and add them to your salads too.
14.) Beans and Peas High in Folic Acid
Beans and peas are considered as rich in folic acid. There are different types of beans like pinto beans, lima beans, green peas, black- eyed peas and kidney beans. Each of these is foods high in folic acid. Pinto bean has 294mcg of folate per cup, black beans and navy beans have 256mcg, again kidney beans contain 229 mcg and lima beans 156 mcg per cup.
15.) Citric Fruits Rich Source of Folate
Fruits contain folic acid but the citric fruits are foods high in folic acid. Fruits like orange, papaya, grapefruit, grapes, banana, cantaloupe and strawberries. One orange holds about 50 mcg of folate and a large one will contain more than that. A papaya contains 115 mcg (micrograms) of folic acid, a grape contains 30 mcg and a cup of strawberries contain 25 mcg of folate.