How do pregnant women supplement folic acid?

　　Q1: Should pregnant women take folic acid supplements through dietary supplements or synthetic folic acid?

　　Artificial folic acid is more stable and efficient than natural folic acid, which is rare among vitamins. Of course, there are many nutrients with very high nutritional value in natural vegetables and fruits, which cannot be replaced by pills.

　　Q2: What is the scientific dosage of folic acid supplementation for pregnant women?

　　Expectant mothers must pay attention to the difference between micrograms and milligrams, and don’t take 5mg (which is really common in reality). As for whether to supplement 400 micrograms or 800 micrograms, there is still some controversy. Since 1998, the Canadian and American governments have required food manufacturers to add folic acid to flour and cornmeal, so their actual dietary intake of folic acid is higher than in our country. However, I personally and the mainstream in the academic community still prefer that 400 micrograms is enough.

　　Q3: When should pregnant women take folic acid supplements?

　　Since many people don’t know they are pregnant when they first become pregnant, my personal recommendation is to start taking 400 micrograms of folic acid daily from the time you prepare to become pregnant until you are three months pregnant. You can continue taking it after that, but it may not have obvious effects.

　　Q4: Which vegetables contain natural folic acid and how to cook them best?

　　Chicken feathers, cabbage, cabbage, rapeseed, etc. are rich in folic acid. Folic acid will dissolve at 100 degrees Celsius in an acidic environment. Generally, 50%-90% will be lost after food processing. So the best way to cook it is to eat it raw without cooking it. But this method is often not practical, because eating it raw will cause many safety hazards. So taking folic acid supplements is actually the most economical solution.

　　Q5: Will supplementing too much folic acid affect the absorption of vitamin B12?

　　Too much folic acid supplementation will indeed affect B12, so pay attention to the daily folic acid supplementation.

　　In addition, vegetarian expectant mothers need to pay more attention to vitamin B12 supplements, because vitamin B12 is mainly found in meat, and plant foods almost do not contain vitamin B12, so vegetarians are prone to B12 deficiency at any time.

　　If a vegetarian pregnant woman still insists on not eating meat, she can eat more seaweed food or take supplements. Generally, the recommended amount for pregnant women is 2.6 micrograms of vitamin B12, which can be satisfied by taking some B vitamin tablets.