Benefits Of Folic Acid For Our Brain Health

The benefits of folic acid for our brain health are extraordinary. This folate, also known as vitamin B9, improves, for example, antidepressant treatment by enhancing their effect. It is also known to be essential for cellular detoxification, to “manufacture” neurotransmitters, and to slow cognitive decline.

Do you like lentils or are you the one who chooses to leave them behind? Be that as it may, we are talking about a representative of a type of food that has certain essential nutrients to improve mood, our cognitive resources and brain health. Thus, when we talk about folic acid, it is common to think almost immediately of a pregnant woman or a woman who wants to be pregnant.

We know that this folate is key for the proper development of the fetus, and that a deficiency of it can cause serious congenital problems such as spina bifida or other defects in the neural tube of the baby.

Now, vitamin B9 is an exceptional resource for optimizing many of our cognitive processes. Moreover, as various studies reveal, such as the one carried out in various universities in the Netherlands, folic acid can allow us to reach advanced ages with better brain health.

Furthermore, we can also significantly reduce the incidence of dementias or strokes. As we can see, nothing can be as simple as improving our diet in order to reach the elderly with more agile mental faculties and a strong cognitive reserve.

Benefits of folic acid for our brain health

Psychiatric journals have been publishing studies on the subject for more than three years. Thus, works like the one we can read in the  Journal of Clinical Psychiatry  already reveal what this small molecule is capable of doing. For starters, finished psychiatric medications such as those used to treat bipolar disorder are known to reduce the presence of folic acid in the brain.

So much so, that as a preventive measure, vitamin supplements are usually prescribed to prevent their decline. Likewise, it is known that folic acid can enhance the response to antidepressants. In this way, if in addition to following the medication we take care of our diet and that this type of folate is not lacking, the improvement can be faster and more stable.

If everything is chemistry in the brain, folic acid is that mediator that makes possible a whole series of processes, reactions and bonds. Taking this into account can be of great help to us. However, let’s see now what benefits folic acid has for our brain health.

Folic acid to improve our moods

There are several studies that show us how a good supply of folic acid can improve our mood and increase our production of serotonin. Furthermore, specialists indicate that the best folic acid we can take is  l-methylfolate,  since its half-life in our body is higher.

On the other hand, it is known that there are some people who have a genetic inability to correctly metabolize folic acid. Hence, they always present a certain deficit, associated diseases and a greater risk when developing certain mood disorders.

Be that as it may, there are already many psychiatrists who recommend taking supplements based on this vitamin to optimize recovery processes and to improve our mental well-being.

A deficit of folic acid increases brain inflammation

Methylfolate is essential for the brain to “make” neurotransmitters and DNA. If we do not have this folate at an optimal level, either due to an inadequate diet or a genetic problem like the one mentioned above, several things can happen. The most striking is the appearance of a high concentration of homocysteine.

Remember, homocysteine ​​is a chemical compound that mediates inflammation and high blood pressure. All of this leads to a greater risk of having strokes, strokes, etc. Furthermore, the inflammatory hypothesis of depression is gaining consensus. The one in which the idea that a high level of  homocysteine ​​mediates the development of depressive disorders is defended . 

More memory with folic acid and vitamin B12

According to a study by Janine Walker, a researcher at the Australian National University, people who have taken a good supply of folic acid and vitamin B12 for three or more years reach advanced ages in better condition. Alzheimer’s reduces its incidence, their memory is agile, they maintain their cognitive reserve and they enjoy a more active and mentally agile old age.

All of this encourages us to take into account the advice of specialists. From the age of 60 we must increase the contribution of this type of nutrients. Doing so costs nothing and the results are noticeable.

What foods are rich in folic acid?

You may be thinking of going to the pharmacy for a folic acid-based vitamin supplement. It is not the best. Not if it has not been prescribed by our doctor, psychiatrist or a specialized nutritionist.

Therefore, it would be good to act based on our needs and, if at the moment we do not present any associated deficit, the ideal is to limit ourselves to including or maintaining it in our diet with foods that we can find in any supermarket, such as:

• Lentils.
• Chickpeas.
• Asparagus.
• Spinach.
• Broccoli.
• Avocado.
• Strawberries.
• Oranges
• Papayas
• Raspberries
• Brussels sprouts.
• Celery

To conclude, as we see, folic acid is not only that component that cannot be lacking in a pregnant woman’s diet. All of us, especially when we reach advanced ages, need to take care of the contribution of this type of folate so essential in our brain.