Wheres the Folate?
A variety of foods contain folate, and good sources include liver, leafy vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Although folate occurs in many foods, one difficulty in getting enough folate is that the vitamin is extremely sensitive to heat and other processing methods. Some studies show that up to 95 percent of the folate can be lost by long cooking times and commercial processes such as canning. This may be the reason that surveys show some Americans aren’t getting enough of the vitamin, with one recent study reporting that 88 percent of Americans don’t meet the RDA. The National Institute of Medicine recently revised the 1989 RDA in switching to the new DRI and increased the recommended level of folate by twice the amount to 400 micrograms. Interestingly, the 1989 RDA committee had cut the folic acid RDA by half, from the previous level of 400 micrograms! The Institute of Medicine broke new ground and suggested that Americans either take supplements or eat foods that are fortified w
