Methylfolate

• Provides folic acid as methylfolate (5-MTHF) for optimum absorption

• Methylfolate is the most bioeffective and safest form of folate

• Small easy to take capsules

• Recommended folate (folic acid) level for pregnancy and preconception 

   

About our Methylfolate supplement 

Provides folic acid as methylfolate, 400ug per capsule. In a wholefood, stable and active form that is better used by your body than folic acid. Fulfils all the known uses of folic acid. 

Folate supplement benefits vs folic acid 

Many supplements contain folic acid; however folic acid must undergo several steps within the body to be converted to the active form – 5-MTHF. The final step in this conversion is carried out in your body by an enzyme called MTHFR and some people have genetic mutations which means this enzyme has reduced efficiency in converting folic acid to 5MTHF. 

Methylfolate does not need to be converted; it is in the active form, ready for use by the body. 

Functions of folic acid

Folic acid contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism. This is important as high homocysteine is a risk factor for several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.

Folate is used in the methylation cycle, something which occurs in all the cells of your body. Methylation is a chemical process that occurs a billions of times a second and is needed for the proper functioning of almost all body systems.  

Methylation functions: 

• Detoxing environmental toxins 
• Regulating hormones 
• Energy production 
• Production of neurotransmitters 
• Production of immune cells 
• Metabolism of homocysteine 
• and many more! 

Methylation involves transferring molecules called ‘methyl groups’ to and from compounds to allow them to work optimally in the body. Methyl donors include folate, B12 and B6, among other nutrients, which are vital to normal methylation and therefore homocysteine metabolism.

Methyl folate (or 5-MTHF) is readily able to donate a methyl group to the amino acid homocysteine which is then converted to methionine, which is then used to form S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e). SAM-e is used in many metabolic processes that require a methyl group. 

Folate contributes to normal: 

• psychological function. 
• blood formation. 
• homocysteine metabolism. 
• maternal tissue growth during pregnancy. 
• immune system function. 
• amino acid synthesis
• contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. 
• has a role in the process of cell division. 

What is the best folic acid for pregnancy? 

Supplementing with folic acid during preconception and pregnancy increases the mother’s folate status. Low levels in mum are a risk factor in the development of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in the developing foetus. 

You can find the government recommended daily dose of 400µg of folic acid in its optimally absorbed and naturally active form of methylfolate in our comprehensive pregnancy multivitamin and mineral, Pregna-Plan.