Contents
Effects of folic acid in men and doubts about supplementation, quantity, contraindications, etc.
What is folic acid and what is it used for?
Folic acid or folate (vitamin B9) is a water-soluble vitamin B that is used both in naturopathic treatments and conventional medicine mainly for it benefits for cardiovascular health and fertility.
Folic acid is popular for its benefits in pregnancy, but this vitamin has many more functions than intervening in pregnancy.
What are the benefits of folic acid for men?
This vitamin is widely known for its reproductive functions in women, as it is one of the supplements required during pregnancy. However, the consumption of foods rich in folic acid has many more benefits attributed:
- Preparation of pregnancy: Before conception is recommended because it improves the genetic quality of both men and women.
- Decreases cardiovascular risk, due to the neutralization of toxins.
- Prevents certain diseases caused by folate deficiency, such as anemia.
- It decreases the risk of suffering certain types of cancer
- Compensates for the adverse effect of some medications, which decrease folate.
Low folic acid levels in men
Folic acid levels can be due to three main causes:
- Poor diet in folic acid: Food is the main and best source of this vitamin
- Increased needs for folic acid (taking certain medications, the elderly, diseases, smoking, etc.)
Problems with low folic acid in men and women
Low levels of folic acid produce the following negative effects, both in men and women:
- You can not renew the genetic material with the consequent decrease in fertility and pregnancy problems
- Toxic substances such as homocysteine accumulate causing damage to blood vessels, heart disease and high cholesterol problems
- No new red blood cells can be formed and anemia is produced or aggravated (megaloblastic anemia)
- The lack of this vitamin, by preventing the renewal of cells, can increase the risk of cancer.
- Only in women, are added to the list the inconveniences associated with pregnancy, such as neural tube defects in the future baby (spina bifida)
How is it better to get folic acid?
The best source of this vitamin are foods rich in folic acid, which are mainly green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, Swiss chard, broccoli, etc .; legumes, fruits and nuts (without frying and without salt).
Eating these foods will provide, in addition to folates, many other interesting nutrients for health.
Health benefits of a diet rich in folic acid or folate for men. If you want to take supplements, megadoses are not recommended.
Folic acid supplements for men
It is not necessary to take folic acid supplements since this vitamin must be provided by a healthy diet. However, in case of suffering from certain diseases, it is highly recommended to take supplements, at least for a few weeks or months, without replacing a diet rich in this vitamin.
- Supplements with 400 mcg of folic acid (vitamin B9) are beneficial. Note that it is expressed in micrograms (mcg or μg) and not in milligrams (mg), and this vitamin is covered in doses smaller than milligrams. In addition, B9 supplements should be combined with B12 supplements.
- Folic acid megadoses are not recommended because, in addition to not being necessary, they could cause prostate problems. Megadoses are those supplements that contain milligrams (mg) of folic acid instead of micrograms (mcg or μg). An example is the supplement Cilocid, which has 5 mg of folic acid.
Contraindications and excess folic acid
In normal amounts, folic acid has practically no contraindications. Its possible dangers are due to excess, for example in megadoses of supplementation, which can cause problems of toxicity and adverse effects …
* Related information:
– Folic acid diet during pregnancy
– How to take folic acid supplements for pregnancy
More information on vitamins.
| Vitamin B1(Thiamin) | Vitamin B2(Riboflavin) | Vitamin B3(Niacin) |
| Vitamin B5(Pantothenic acid) | Vitamin B6(Pyridoxine) | Vitamin B7(Biotin) |
| Vitamin B9(Folic acid) | Vitamin B12(Cobalamin) | Choline |
| Inositol | PABA | Lipoic acid |
More information about vitamins.
