Foods Containing Folate

When I learned that folate reduces homocysteine levels, which in turn reduces your risk of Alzheimers, heart and kidney disease, even some cancers and birth defects, I wanted to read related research.

I was particularly interested in a study that looked at supplements vs diet: Dietary strategies for lowering homocysteine, a study by Riddell, Chisholm and Williams.

The study found that in the course of 12 weeks 437 mcg of folic acid lowered homocysteine 21%, fortified breakfast cereals lowered it 24% and a 418 mcg increase in folate rich veggies lowered homocysteine levels only 9%. The researchers wrote, “from a practical point of view it is difficult to increase the consumption of folate-rich foods in free-living individuals to an extent that will result in higher dietary intakes.”

I was skeptical that folic acid supplements lower homocysteine more effectively than increasing the amount of folate rich veggies you eat, until I did a chart of the folate content of veggies.

While there’s quite a lot of folate in asparagus with 268 mcg, broccoli with 302 mcg, avocados with 122 mcg, turnip greens with 170 mcg, mustard greens with 105 mcg, and peas with 101 mcg, there isn’t very much in other veggies, and if you eat them raw rather shrunken by cooking so that more fit into a cup, there’s not nearly as much as I expected.

Folate vs Folic Acid

Folate is a naturally occurring, readily bioavailable B vitamin found in green veg.

In contrast to folate, folic acid is the synthetic form of the vitamin found in commercial supplements, as well as the natural form found in dried legumes, which are a rich source. The thing is, digesting the protein in legumes produces homocysteine, so I’m not sure their folic acid is enough to get ahead of the problem.

How much folate do your favorite veggies have?

Food	mcg per cup
Alfalfa Sprouts	11.9
Arugula	52.25
Asparagus, cooked	268
Asparagus, raw	69.7
Avocado, cubed	122
Broccoli, cooked	302
Broccoli, raw	57.3
Brussels Sprouts, cooked	63
Brussels Sprouts, raw	53.7
Cabbage, red, cooked	16
Cabbage, cooked	16.47
Cabbage, raw	38.3
Collards, cooked	177
Collards, raw	59.8
Cucumber slices w/ peel	7.2
Dandelion greens, cooked	13.7
Dandelion greens, raw	14.9
Green Chili, canned	75.1
Kale, cooked	16.9
Kale, raw	19.4
Kiwi	44.2
Lambs Quarters	25.2
Lettuce, butterhead, bibb,	40.1
Lettuce, cos, romaine	75.16
Lettuce, iceberg	20.9
Lettuce, green leaf	19.8
Lettuce, red leaf	18.3
Mustard Greens, cooked	102
Mustard Greens, raw	105
Okra, cooked	73.6
Onion Greens, raw	12.8
Pak Choi, cooked	69.7
Pak Choi, raw	46.2
Pear	10.4
Peas, canned	37.4
Peas, cooked	101
Peas, raw	94.3
Peas, sugarsnap, cooked	46.4
Peas, sugarsnap, raw	41.2
Pepper, sweet, green, cooked	21.6
Pepper, sweet, green, raw	14.9
Purslane, cooked	10.3
Purslane, raw	5.2
Spinach, cooked	263
Spinach, cooked	263
Spinach, raw	58.2
Swiss Chard, cooked	15.7
Swiss Chard, raw	5
Tomato, canned, packed in juice	19.2
Tomato, canned, stewed	12.8
Tomato, orange, raw	45.8
Tomato, red, cooked	31.2
Tomato, red, raw	22.3
Tomato Sauce, canned	27.0
Tomato Soup, canned	0
Turnip Greens, cooked	170
Zucchini, baby, raw	6.4
Zucchini, w/skin, raw	36
Zucchini, w/skin, cooked	30.6

You can look up nutritional values of almost any food, to include those prepared by Campbells, and even some fast food restaurants, at SELFNutrionData.