Foods high in folic acid
You can prevent or reverse folic acid deficiency anemia by eating a diet that includes foods high in folic acid.
Some foods that provide folic acid:
Foods with folic acid Food Serving size Folic acid (folate) Fortified breakfast cereal
3/4 cup 400 ug (0.4 mg)
Liver
3 oz 185 ug (0.2 mg)
Avocado
1/2 cup 45 ug
Orange juice
3/4 cup 35 ug
Asparagus, boiled
4 spears
85 ug (0.1 mg)
Spinach, cooked
1/2 cup 100 ug (0.1 mg)
Spinach, raw
1 cup 60 ug (0.1 mg)
Green peas, boiled
1/2 cup 50 ug (0.1 mg)
Wheat germ
2 Tbsp 40 ug
Oranges
1 small
30 ug
Broccoli, cooked
1/2 cup 50 ug (0.1 mg)
Broccoli, raw
2 spears, 5 in. (12.7 cm) long
45 ug
Note: Cooking vegetables often makes the vegetable smaller. A cup of cooked vegetable weighs more than a cup of raw vegetable, so the amount of folic acid in each will be different.
Other folic acid food facts
- Many breakfast cereals and breads are fortified with folic acid. Read labels to see if the amount of folic acid meets your daily requirement.
- Eat vegetables raw or lightly steamed. Cooking may destroy some of the folic acid found in food.
- Drinking orange juice or other juices high in vitamin C increases the amount of folic acid your body absorbs from food.
| Author: | Ralph Poore | Last Updated: March 2, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Brian Leber, MDCM, FRCPC - Hematology | |
 | ||