Folic Acid Supplements/Multivitamins

Enriched Foods

Folate-rich Foods

Advantages

• High bioavailability

• Convenient

• Affordable

• High bioavailability

• Effective for people who do not like pills, or cannot remember to take them

• Covered by Food Stamps

• Can be incorporated into a daily diet routine which can decrease the chances of missing a "dose" of folic acid

• Grains are already a staple in many different types of diets

• Over 50 cereals are enriched with folic acid and provide 400 mcg per serving

• Covered by Food Stamps

• Most folate rich foods are also full of antioxidants and fiber and are usually low fat to boot!

Disadvantages

• Does not replace healthy dietary habits

• Not covered by Food Stamps--less available to disadvantaged families

• For a variety of reasons, some people cannot, or prefer not to, swallow a pill each day

• Susceptible to loss of full amount of folate through cooking or eating practices
• People may tire of eating the same foods repeatedly
• Enriched corn products may have fluomonacine mold that inhibits the bioavailability of folic acid[119]

• Lower bioavailability than other sources

• Cannot serve as single source of folic acid-- portions of foods would be prohibitively large

• Susceptible to loss of full amount of folate through cooking or eating practices