Hello, we all know that folic acid can prevent fetal neural tube malformation, so nowadays it is generally recommended that women who are preparing to get pregnant or women in the first trimester of pregnancy take supplemental folic acid tablets in order to achieve the purpose of preventing fetal neural tube malformations and lowering the rate of births of malformed fetuses.

Generally, in the maternal and child health center or marriage examination place will be with free folic acid tablets distributed, these folic acid is often said that the small white bottle, this folic acid are very cheap, even if you go to buy is a few dollars. And if you specifically go outside the drugstore to buy, some brand-name folic acid tablets probably dozens of dollars, and some of the multivitamins specifically for pregnant women to eat probably dozens of dollars, or even hundreds, but these multivitamins not only contain folic acid, but also will also contain a variety of other vitamins at the same time, not only to meet the needs of pregnant women on the demand for folic acid, but also at the same time to achieve the role of replenishment of a variety of vitamins.

When it comes to why the price of the drug is so different, it is not only related to the production process, packaging and other factors, but also related to product positioning, publicity and other multi-factors.

Drugs like folic acid are relatively mature old drugs, the production methods and processes are more mature, and have passed the new drug protection, so the cost of production should be very cheap. But if it is too cheap, the efficiency of the pharmaceutical company will be very low and there will be no incentive for production. Many of the cheaper drugs that used to be used in hospitals are now almost unavailable. And if the same production out of the product to change the packaging, under the banner of high-end, natural and so on, the price can be hundreds of times. Although advertising may account for a large proportion of the cost, but it is still more profitable, why not?

So if you look purely at the difference between a few dollars and tens of dollars of folic acid, as long as the dosage is 0.4mg, both can achieve the role of preventing fetal neural tube malformation, there is no essential difference. But if you want to supplement with a multivitamin at the same time, buy a multivitamin, and that can cost over a hundred dollars.

This phenomenon can be seen everywhere and everyone is faced with this choice.

Because it is now a global consensus, not just in our country, that we women are advised to take folic acid supplements before pregnancy, and in the early trimester.

Why should I take folic acid supplements?

Simply put: reduce the incidence of disabled children!

Because folic acid, in our body, is involved in the synthesis of all the nucleic acids in the body, as well as DNA, which is a protein that is needed for the development of all the organs in our body, and in the formation of our neural tubes, as well as in hematopoiesis.

And if you don't take folic acid supplements at this time, the most important thing is that it may cause neural tube malformations in infants and children, and once you have neural tube malformations, our children will be handicapped even if they are fortunate enough to be born.

Therefore.It is especially emphasized that women must take folic acid supplements during the early 3 months of pregnancyBecause this is the time when the basic tissues of the infant's nervous system and circulatory system first begin to differentiate, including the primary kidneys and the embryonic heart, and the neural tube begins to connect the brain to the spinal cord, etc., it is important to take folic acid supplements as prescribed by the doctor at this time in order to reduce the chances of neural tube malformations!

Especially in the north of our country, the chances of developing neural tube malformations are higher than in the south if there is a deficiency of folic acid.That's why our country is forcing the provision of free folic acid supplementation among all our pregnant women, and you can see the little white bottles of folic acid tablets provided free of charge at your local hospitals and maternity and child care centers!

But those who are attentive will find that this kind of freely available folic acid tablets are actually sold in the market for only a few dollars for a hundred tablets, while we go to the drugstore to buy them and sell them for basically tens or even hundreds of dollars.

So what's the difference between the little white bottles of folic acid tablets available for free at the hospital and the hundreds of dollars of folic acid tablets at the drugstore?

First of all, if you look purely at the main ingredients of the drug, for our general population, i.e., your family, or if you have not had a deformed child before, as long as you are able to satisfy the 0.4 mg of folic acid supplementation a day for a pregnant woman, there is no difference in the chances of preventing neural tube malformations, with this minimal effective dose, and at a very small amount of money!

Secondly, why do we doctors still recommend that where we can, and for those who can, we try to go for the $100+ folic acid tablets?

In fact, if you look carefully, this is not only a simple folic acid tablets, but a multivitamin containing folic acid, and it contains the actual dose of folic acid, basically have 0.8mg, and even some up to 1mg, in fact, this can be, especially for the pregnant women who have had a deformed child before, is to advocate an increase in the dose of folic acid, such as 0.8, or even up to 1mg are It is possible, as long as you are not supplementing 5mg of folic acid at once, basically there is not too much of a problem.The lowest effective dose of folic acid that we usually say is 0.4mg, which is the bottom line and not to be missed!, but it's true that folic acid should not be overdone either, because the vitamins constrain each other.Once folic acid is oversupplemented, it can -inhibit our body's vitamin B12 deficiency, secondary to the development of anemia.

The main reason why we recommend that people who are in a position to do so can take a folic acid-rich multivitamin supplement is that there have been studies that have been done to show that folic acid added to a multivitamin can not only reduce neural tube malformations, but also reduce many of our malformations, such as poor limb development, congenital heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and urinary tract malformations and so on," he said.In other words, it's a little bit more than the other preventive effects of regular folic acid tablets.

Finally, for the hospital to provide free ordinary folic acid tablets, although particularly cheap, but we can really rest assured that this belongs to the pharmaceutical folic acid tablets, its approval standards are very strict, compared to some multivitamins in this kind of health care products, in the quality of more trustworthy, therefore, for the conditions of the general family of pregnant women, you can go to receive this free folic acid tablets, after all, to have a child! The first thing you need to do is to get a free folic acid tablets, from the preparation of pregnancy, pregnancy to birth, pregnancy, nothing during the small hair and small illnesses, the birth of a smooth delivery is okay, the money spent may be less, but once it is often need to go to the checkups, the pregnancy also have to carry out birth control and so on.There are really a lot of things to spend money on, and it's really a big expense for the average familyAnd for the other vitamins, as long as we eat a normal diet, we can actually get a good supplement, and we don't have to worry too much about it!

This is a very good question! It reflects a kind of confusion that our ordinary patients (i.e., without medical and/or pharmacy professional background) have in buying medicines on a daily basis, and it is just right that we take this opportunity today to give you a little bit of professional knowledge about buying medicines, just for reference.

Under what circumstances do hospitals provide free medicines?

First of all, since the question mentions the words "provided free of charge by hospitals", I will first explain to Members some of the circumstances under which public hospitals in China provide free medicines to patients.

It should be said that, at present, our public hospitals (private hospitals will not be provided) free of charge to provide drugs is not common, if there is indeed free of charge, generally occurs mainly in the following 2 situations:

(b) A kind of pseudo-free: medicines given to hospitalized patients by ward nurses "free of charge", but which appear to be free, but are actually paid for because they will be billed and deducted from the medical fees paid by the patient.

The other is really free: that is, the State has expressly provided for special medical policies, such as the implementation of the family planning policy in previous years and the provision of free family planning supplies, as well as free medicines for the prevention and treatment of endemic diseases, such as the prevention and treatment of blood-sucking disease, which is still being maintained today, and so on.

Apart from the above 2 scenarios, at present, both public and private hospitals generally do not provide free medicines.

What is a free little white bottle of folic acid tablets from the hospital?

Okay, after explaining "free medication", let's go back and talk about what is the free white bottle of folic acid tablets provided by the hospital?

Folic acid tablets as a medicine, in our country belongs to the medical insurance class A, OTC class A drugs, clinically as a preventive medicine for pregnant and lactating women, used for the prevention of fetal congenital neural tube malformations and various causes of folic acid deficiency, caused by megaloblastic anemia.

In other words.As the folic acid tablets provided in regular hospitals should be folic acid as a medicine.Instead, it's health food folic acid.

The price of folic acid tablets as a medicine is only a few dollars, for example, a domestic brand of folic acid tablets, the specification is 5 mg X 100 tablets/bottle, also small white bottles, the retail price of each bottle is only about 8 yuan.

What about the hundreds of fast folic acid tablets at the drugstore?

Then, we'll talk about what about the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars of folic acid tablets at the drugstore?

Remember above, I kept emphasizing "folic acid tablets as medicines", implying that there are also folic acid tablets that are not medicines.i.e. folic acid tablets as a health food。

Since folic acid is also like other vitamins, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, it can be used as an ingredient added to both pharmaceuticals and health foods.

If it is added as a raw material for medicine, it will become Vitamin C tablet medicine and Vitamin E pill medicine; if it is added as a raw material for health food, it will be called Vitamin C tablet health food and Vitamin E pill health food.

The same goes for folic acid.Folic acid tablets provided by hospitals are added as a pharmaceutical ingredient; health food folic acid tablets, on the other hand, are added as a health food ingredient.

Currently on the market health food folic acid tablets, a wide range of qualities, dazzling, such as multivitamin folic acid tablets, iron folic acid tablets, folic acid multivitamin nutritional tablets, vitamin folic acid iodine tablets and so on, to name a few, the price can be from a few hundred dollars a bottle, until thousands of dollars a bottle ranging.

However, the formal health food manufacturers produce hundreds of thousands of dollars a bottle of health food folic acid, in the manual or bottle post will only be printed in the auxiliary function of improvement, and can not be like only a few dollars of folic acid tablets, clearly set out the therapeutic effect (and informal health food manufacturers of folic acid tablets itself is an illegal product, so it is how to write how to publicize the scope of the country's strict detection, in the We will not discuss it here).

Why? Because a few dollars of folic acid tablets are medicines, and medicines are cures; while thousands of dollars of folic acid tablets are health foods, and health foods are only health foods, not cures.

How do we buy medicines properly?

Finally, let's talk about how to buy medicines properly?

Before buying medicines, we must first be clear: I am here to buy medicine, not health care.

As long as this premise remains unchanged, as to whether the medicine is purchased in the pharmacy within the hospital, or in the pharmacy outside the hospital, the difference is not so great, you just need to figure out the chemical name of the drug as well as the specifications (how many tablets per bottle, how many milligrams of each tablet content) can be, despite the different brands and manufacturers of different trade names of the drug, but the same ingredients, the price will not be too much of a difference.

To summarize: the little white bottles of folic acid tablets provided by hospitals may be medicines; the hundreds of dollars of folic acid tablets from drugstores may be health food.

Do you agree with me?

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Special note: All recommended medications in the comments section should be tried with caution and never purchased with a call!

In our area, when you get pregnant, you can get free folic acid tablets when you go to the Maternal and Child Health Center.

But sometimes, it's so crowded that I don't bother to stand in line, and I think I'll just go to the drugstore and get some.

As a result, when I went to the pharmacy, omg, 100+ for a month's dose.

Think about it. Why pay for it when you can get it for free.

Is it better to sell it at the drugstore.

So, it was time to call my great-aunt who works in the hospital's OB/GYN department.

My great-aunt smiled when she heard this and explained it to me:

The drugstore sells folic acid tablets for over 100 a month.

It is actually a multivitamin. To be clear, the main ingredient besides folic acid .

It also contains other vitamins.

However, the hospital provides it for free with no ingredients other than folic acid supplementation.

Usually come people, us normal people, just eat what the hospital provides for free.

Other vitamins are available in our daily diet.

There's really no need to add another.

With this stuff, it's not like the more money you spend on something, the better it's going to be.

There are a lot of health care segments, and of course they are quite expensive.

But really, the main ingredients are exactly the same.

Maybe it's not as good as the hospital-issued folic acid tablets.

My sister-in-law told me never to spend another penny.

She'll get me some alright.

So, for my pregnancy, I relied on free folic acid tablets.

So much so, that later, after the baby was born, there were still several bottles left in the house that hadn't been consumed.

But it was too lazy to eat it again, so I left it there.

The ingredients are the same. One's state-licensed.

One is a health food product. Grow a brain and you'll know that the State Pharmacopoeia is good.

And vitamin c, B vitamins.

The ones sold at the drugstore for a few dollars a bottle are better than the ones for over a hundred dollars a bottle

Of course, the rich can ignore

If you want to eat the flowers surely eat the State Pharmacopoeia.

Including calcium tablets and whatnot, recognizing the State Pharmacopoeia.

Health care is expensive and not as demanding as pharmaceuticals, money doesn't burn that way.

That's a good question, and different folic acid tablets do exist in the real world, ranging from those that are a few dollars cheaper for a bottle to those that cost around a hundred dollars. So which one is better? Today, Dr. Zhang consulted with his colleagues at the pharmacy to give you a brief explanation.

It should be said that as long as the folic acid tablets can appear in the pharmacy or medical institutions, must be the quality of qualified drugs, will not be because of a cheaper, a more expensive on the existence of qualified and unqualified differences. As for those ordinary folic acid tablets, my own personal experience is that the most common pregnant women to eat the drug Slimane, about 93 tablets about 77 yuan price. And there are some multivitamins that cost around a hundred dollars, such as the most familiar Elavil, which costs around 86 dollars for 30 tablets and 260 dollars for 100 tablets. And the regular little white bottle of folic acid tablets mentioned in the title probably costs around $5.

As to whether there will be a huge difference in clinical efficacy between these drugs because of the huge difference in price, I do not think so. My personal view is that as long as they are approved by the State Food and Drug Administration and have clear indications, they can be used and we can rest assured of this. If you really do not feel confident, you can also find a specialist for further consultation, and must use the drug under the guidance of the doctor. For example, folic acid supplementation for pregnant women can be used under the guidance of an obstetrician, while folic acid supplementation for cardiology patients with H-type hypertension can be used under the guidance of a cardiologist.

The folic acid inside the hospital is uniformly purchased by the state, uniformly issued to the hospital, free of charge to women of childbearing age, everyone with an ID card, you can go to the local community health service station, or maternal and child health care class to get it.

Folic acid inside the drugstore, can be sold for more than a hundred dollars, usually are multivitamin tablets, rather than simple folic acid tablets. Or health care products, because the price of health care products in addition to the cost of brand advertising investment, there will be a generous commission, so this price will be sold beyond the drug many times.

For pregnant women, or preparing for pregnancy, it is still recommended to get the state free folic acid, one because the production of drugs than compared to health care products, much stricter, in addition, since the state unified procurement and distribution, then the quality is certainly more guaranteed, so although we now have a better standard of living, not bad money, but not that blind pursuit of expensive is necessarily good.

I looked at what everyone everyone answered and I'll give you a summary.

First of all: hospitals provide, some hospitals pregnant mothers registered free of charge, some hospitals do not provide is not expensive, usually a few dollars a bottle. Hospitals provide assured and reliable, drug approval number, audit test standards are relatively high. Pharmacy publicity, undoubtedly are health care products, health care products, although rich in nutrients, but what is missing to make up for what, or else over-nutrition is also possible.

Secondly, the difference in production costs, channelizers, and the difference in price due to advertising.

Lastly, follow your doctor's advice, don't listen to so-called common sense and other non-professionals, and if your body is indeed deficient in other vitamins as well, then it's always best to follow your medical professional's advice as well.

I wish all pregnant moms and their babies good health, and it's important to keep a good mindset!

Whether it's the free little white bottles of folic acid tablets provided by hospitals or the folic acid tablets that are sometimes sold for hundreds of dollars in drugstores, in essence, folic acid is folic acid, and there is no essential difference between the two products for folic acid supplementation.

Folic acid is a member of the B vitamin family, also known as vitamin B9, a water-soluble B vitamin substance that is a very important vitamin for human health. Many friends know that supplementing folic acid can also prevent fetal neural tube malformations, so some friends take folic acid preparations for supplementation during the preparation stage and the first trimester of pregnancy, and there is certainly nothing wrong with doing so. But folic acid in addition to prevent fetal malformation, in fact, in the human body, folic acid is also involved in amino acids, proteins, DNA and RNA synthesis and metabolism, at the same time, folic acid can also assist the vitamin B12, promote the generation of red blood cells, for the human body to manufacture red blood cells, folic acid is also an important nutrient, middle-aged and elderly people pay attention to the folic acid supplementation, and the prevention of breast cancer, prevention of H-type hypertension and so on. Folic acid is also a very important nutrient.

Therefore, folic acid is a very important physiological substances to the human body, but in the end whether the need for additional supplementation, this point is worth exploring, in fact, in our daily life, there are a lot of ingredients are rich in folic acid, such as green leafy vegetables, a variety of fresh fruits, legumes, animal liver, yeast, animal meat and other types of ingredients, are rich in folic acid, and the average adult recommended daily intake of folic acid is 0.4mg, the maximum recommended dose is not more than 0.8mg, and pregnant women and lactating women, daily recommended supplemental folic acid dose of 0.6mg and 0.5mg. The maximum recommended dose is not more than 0.8mg, and pregnant women and lactating women, daily recommended supplemental folic acid dose of 0.6mg and 0.5mg. Therefore, if our daily life, pay attention to the nutritional balance of the diet, eat more vegetables and fruits, and try to minimize the cooking process, to keep fresh to eat, such a dietary structure, as long as the human body can be absorbed normally, so the situation is not a lack of Folic acid.

If you do need to take supplements for the situation, choose a few dollars of small white bottle of folic acid tablets, or choose hundreds of dollars of folic acid tablets? In fact, in most cases, whether it is a small white bottle or boxed plate of folic acid tablets, if it is purely drug folic acid tablets, its price is not expensive, and the drugstore can easily be hundreds of dollars a bottle of folic acid tablets, in most cases, are the business launched health care category of multivitamin tablets, which does contain folic acid tablets, but if you really need to supplement the folic acid friends, regardless of the difference between the poor and not poor money, we recommend the cheap folic acid tablets. We all recommend cheap drug name folic acid tablets, why? Cheap price, quality is guaranteed.

It is not a superstition and advocate the drug name, but for supplemental folic acid, especially in preparation for pregnancy and pre-pregnancy folic acid supplementation, or should try to choose the "drug name". China's regulation of pharmaceutical companies have now been in line with international standards, in the production of drugs, as long as it is a regular GMP-certified pharmaceutical companies, the vast majority of the time the quality of its products are still guaranteed, from the quality standards of drugs, drug products are often the implementation of strict pharmacopoeia standards or national drug standards, take also folic acid tablets, from the accuracy of its content, drug name is also to be more reliable! The health care products are not regulated as much as the health care products are regulated. And health care products due to the regulation is relatively not so strict, for the production norms, quality control, compared to drug products also have a small gap, therefore, although the multivitamin complex with supplementation, may be beneficial to the body's other nutrients supplementation, but from the supplementation of folic acid in terms of the recommendation to choose a simple "drug" folic acid is more reliable. The most important thing to remember is that you can't tell the difference between folic acid and folic acid. Some friends do not know how to distinguish the drug name, in fact, it is very simple, the product packaging printed on the "State Drug Certification" is the drug name, and if printed on the "State Food and Health" or "Wei Food and Health" word, it is the "State Food and Health" word, it is the "State Food and Health" word, it is the "State Food and Health" word. "The word, it belongs to the health care products.

In addition to the need to pay attention to folic acid supplementation in the pre-pregnancy period, for friends who have been drinking alcohol for a long time, taking metformin for a long time, friends with H-type hypertension, high homocysteine, and friends with related diseases of the small intestine affecting absorption, can pay more attention to folic acid supplementation, dietary supplements at the same time, you can also consider taking medication supplementation, taking into account the synergistic effect of the B vitamins, in the supplementation of folic acid at the same time, you should also pay attention to Other B vitamins supplementation, in the choice of drugs, the recommended choice of drug folic acid tablets, plus drug complex vitamin B tablets (including vitamin B1, B2, B5 and B6), drug vitamin B12, buy three bottles, that is, more than a dozen dollars, the quality of a more guaranteed, why not.

Whether it is for folic acid supplementation or other B vitamins, it is best to confirm that there is a relevant deficiency before proceeding, and pay attention to the dose of supplementation, if you are taking supplements, unless there is a serious disease (such as megaloblastic anemia caused by folic acid deficiency) need to be a large amount of supplementation of folic acid, the recommended amount of folic acid per day is not more than 0.4mg, coupled with the supplementation of the daily diet, this amount has been sufficient to meet the body's daily needs.

I am one of the first registered dietitians in China, and the mom of two little warm boys, Dachan & Xiaobai, welcome to follow me~!

Let's start with the conclusion:Generally, just go with the small white bottle provided by the hospital is sufficient.

Next a closer look at folic acid:

1、Why must I take folic acid supplements? What will happen if I don't take it?

Not eating may create a lot of problems.

Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin, which is an indispensable nutrient for cell proliferation, tissue growth, and body development, and is especially important in the process of fetal development!

Folic acid deficiency may lead to: fetal neural tube malformations; malformations of the eyes, lips, palate, gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular, renal, and skeletal organs; pre-eclampsia in pregnant women; spontaneous abortions; and increased risk of placenta previa, among others.

However, not taking extra folic acid supplements ≠ folic acid deficiency, and there are still plenty of food sources of folic acid.

2、Can I take folic acid to ensure that I don't have neural tube malformation?

No guarantees.

Folic acid deficiency is only one of the factors that contribute to fetal neural tube malformations; other factors include genetics, exposure to chemicals, rays, medications, and infections early in pregnancy, and the pregnant woman's own nutritional status.

Therefore, folic acid supplementation does not guarantee that neural tube malformations will not occur; however, folic acid supplementation prior to and during early pregnancy can effectively prevent the birth of more than 70% of children with neural tube malformations.

In short, folic acid supplementation is very necessary!

3、From when to start supplementing? How long do I have to make up?

Start with pregnancy preparation and supplement until unloading or weaning.

For the prevention of neural tube defects, supplementation from the time of conception until the third month of pregnancy is sufficient;

However, the benefits of folic acid for a pregnant woman or fetus go far beyond that, so it is recommended to stick with the supplement until after the birth of the baby, or even continue throughout the breastfeeding period.

4. Is it too late to take supplements when I'm pregnant if I didn't take them before?

Although you miss the best prevention period, you still need to make up for it.

Studies have shown that 0.4 mg of folic acid daily needs to be taken for at least 3 months for red blood cell folate concentrations to reach effective levels for preventing neural tube defects.

In other words, if you take folic acid supplements after pregnancy, you miss the best time to prevent neural tube malformations. That's why it is recommended that all women who may become pregnant take a daily folic acid supplement consistently; if they are preparing for pregnancy, take folic acid for at least 3 months.

If you are preparing for pregnancy for a relatively short period of time and did not supplement folic acid in time, you can increase the dose of folic acid under the guidance of your doctor, and do not blindly "blindly supplement" yourself, as too much may have a negative impact.

5. Some people say that taking too much folic acid will affect menstruation, ovulation and even lead to miscarriage, is that true?

Not really.

There are no clear studies showing that taking folic acid affects the normal menstrual cycle, ovulation, much less triggers miscarriage.

As for the negative effects, it is possible that oversupplementation of folic acid may mask the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, and it is also possible that it may affect zinc metabolism in the body, causing zinc deficiency.

However, as long as it is taken appropriately as directed, it is safe and nothing to worry about.

6. Is it true that prospective fathers should also take supplements?

Yes, they can be patched together.

Deficiency of folic acid may lead to poor sperm quality, and most of the literature recognizes that folic acid may be able to improve sperm quality, so couples can take the supplement together when preparing for pregnancy and also remind each other not to be afraid of forgetting.

7. If you forget to eat at this meal, do you have to make up for it at the next meal?

It's okay to miss an occasional meal.

There is no need to be nervous once or twice in a while, just take the normal amount for the day; however, frequent omission of the dose will lower the level of folic acid in the blood, and it is recommended to increase the dose appropriately.

8. How should I make up for it? How much is enough?

There are two routes to folic acid supplementation: daily diet + folic acid supplements.

Normal non-high-risk people: just eat enough fruits and vegetables + 0.4mg of folic acid supplements per day.

High risk groups: such as malabsorption, diabetes, obesity, and women with a history of births with neural tube defects, individualized supplementation is recommended, please consult your doctor for details.

The dose may also be increased or the duration of the preconception supplement may be extended, as appropriate, if any of the following conditions are present

① Living in the North, especially in the rural North;

② Eating less fresh vegetables and fruits;

(iii) Low blood folate levels;

④ TT genotype at the MTHFR 677 locus;

⑤ Short preparation time for pregnancy

While taking folic acid supplements, eat more folic acid-rich foods, as well as adopt a healthy lifestyle and maintain a reasonable body weight.

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Responsibly, if they are all simply folic acid products, then there is no difference in their nature and no difference in their effectiveness.

Folic acid from the drugstore isn't a couple hundred dollars either, and the often advertised Slimane is just under a hundred dollars. If you want to say a few hundred dollars a bottle may be a pregnancy multivitamin, this kind of with simple folic acid of course there is a difference.

1, ordinary folic acid tablets are synthetic

Are the ones that claim to be natural folic acid also synthetic? Yes! They are!

Folic acid is essentially a B vitamin that occurs naturally in foods such as leafy greens, beans, egg yolks, and liver, and the reason it's called folic acid is that it was originally extracted from spinach. But natural folic acid is very unstable, light or heat, it is easy to inactivate.

Synthetic folic acid is another chemical form of natural folic acid, which is more stable and more efficiently absorbed and utilized by the body. That's why the common folic acid tablets we see, whether they're pharmaceuticals or supplements, are all the same potent ingredient. This is known in the industry.

And only some people with genetic defects in folate synthesis need to takeActive folic acid, normal people who take regular folic acid metabolize it on their own into another chemical form (active folic acid) to make it work, while people with genetic defects can't accomplish this step or are less efficient, so they take this active form of folic acid directly.

2, specifically look at dozens of dollars and a few dollars of folic acid tablets composition of the truth

This is Silien.$77 for 93 tablets., the active ingredient is Folic Acid 0.4mg and the excipients are: starch, lactose, magnesium stearate. It is classified as a medicine by the State Drug Administration. It is also used to prevent congenital neural tube malformations.

this isA $5 bottle of folic acid. 31 tablets., the same efficacy ingredient is folic acid 0.4mg, and the excipients are: starch, sucrose, magnesium stearate. It also belongs to the drug class. The effect is also to prevent congenital neural tube malformation.

The only difference is thatSucrose is added instead of lactose, but that difference, depending on the dosage of each tablet of the drug, is almost negligible.

this ismultivitamin tabletThe $299, 30 tablets contain other vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in addition to folic acid, so these are not really called folic acid tablets anymore.

3. How to choose

If you just need to take a folic acid supplement, then there is really no difference in the role of the free ones given out in hospitals and the ones sold in the market at various prices, and the safety of synthetic folic acid is very high.There is no such thing as expensive is natural, and drugs are medicines that are three times more toxic。

Should I take a multi-vitamin?This also varies from person to person, so if you feel that your diet is not that ideal and you can do some preventive supplementation, then you can opt for a pregnancy multivitamin.

If the meals are well coordinated and natural dietary supplements are prized, then it is good to take folic acid. But the diet during pregnancy that really need to pay special attention, especially pay attention to the adequate intake of protein, iron, calcium and iodine.

In summary: hospital-issued and drugstore-sold folic acid tablets, pharmaceuticals or health care products, there is no difference in essence, and even many products are even the same excipients. Multivitamin tablets during pregnancy also contain folic acid, is also a supplementary choice.

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