Kat Keough, fertility and prenatal nutritionist for Ovitae, dubunks the harmful myths around folic acid versus folate supplementation

Kat Keough, the fertility and prenatal nutritionist at leading prenatal supplement company, Ovitae, is becoming increasingly concerned about the dangerous commentary that is swirling through the media and mainstream conversations in regards to folic acid and folate. She is committed to rewriting the discourse and educating hopeful and expecting parents by debunking the harmful myths around folic acid and folate.

“Folic acid is one of the most important vitamins to take during pregnancy. Getting the right amount of folic acid reduces the risk of your baby developing neural tube defects, including spina bifida and birth defects, as well as cleft lip and cleft palate. It also helps you and your baby to produce red blood cells and reduces your risk of preeclampsia during pregnancy,” Keough said.

“It is critical to understand that folic acid is the only form of folate supplement that has been through full medical clinical trials. Other folate supplements do not meet the benchmark set by governments across the world and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) to claim that they prevent neural tube defects. Scarily, a number of proponents of supplemental folate are pushing a narrative that has not gone through any meaningful medical trials and should not be relied upon if you are trying to conceive or an expecting parent.

“Without a base medical understanding it may not be known to prospective parents that folic acid and folate are not interchangeable terms. Folate is an umbrella term that includes several compounds in the Vitamin B group that share a similar structure, including folic acid, folinic acid and methylfolate (5-MTHF). Whereas, folic acid is a synthetic form of folate that is stable in supplement form and can be used to fortify foods. The folate that is found naturally in foods is simply not stable enough to be used in supplements or for fortification, and should not be trusted upon to attain the correct amount of folate in your prenatal diet.

“In a well-rounded, healthy diet you should consume 400 to 500 micrograms of folic acid from a prenatal supplement each day while you’re trying to conceive and throughout…