Folic acid is a synthesized version of the vitamin folate which is usually found in fortified foods as well as supplements. Folate, on the other hand, is the natural form of vitamin B9 and is typically found in many plant and animal food sources. Our body has the ability to regulate healthy levels of folate in our system by releasing the excess in our urine. Folic acid is necessary in our body because it helps with DNA synthesis, nucleotide biosynthesis in cells, and the formation of red blood cells too.

The question now is, which foods are rich in folic acid? If you want to increase your folic acid, you might want to add these foods to your regular diet.

Broccoli

This vegetable must be added to your diet as it is one of the best detoxifying foods available. Eating half a cup serving of this vegetable can provide you with 52 micrograms of folic acid which is about 13% of the recommended daily serving that you need. You can add it to your salads, eat it as is, or include them in your meals if you like.

Asparagus

This is perhaps one of the most nutrient dense vegetable that you will ever find. It is low in calorie and can be used as medicine too. Eating four stalks of asparagus can already give you about 90 micrograms of folic acid which is around 22% of the required amount. You can also get vitamins A, C, K, and even manganese from eating this vegetable.

Avocado

You should also try avocado if you want to increase your intake of folic acid as a single fruit can deliver around 162 micrograms of it. This is about 41% of the daily value that you need to have. Another reason why you need to have avocado in your diet is that it contains potassium, fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamin C, and phosphorus just to name a few. You can eat it as is, add to sandwiches, salads, and dips even.

Dark green leafy vegetables

If you want your body to get sufficient amounts of folic acid, make sure that you add more dark green leafy vegetables in your daily diet. Think spinach, arugula, lettuce, collard, kale, and turnip greens because they can deliver a good amount of folate into your system. Spinach can deliver 26 micrograms, while turnip greens contain about 170 micrograms of folic acid. You can mix these vegetables if you like with other ingredients.

Beets

It would be a good idea to add beets to your diet too because they have the ability to cleanse the liver. Detoxifying your body can actually improve your overall health. Another plus to eating beets is that they contain high amounts of folic acid too where a cup of boiled beet will give you 13 micrograms of folate or about 34% of the daily amount needed. 

Increasing your folate and folic acid intake is going to help boost your overall health. The best part is that these foods are among the best sources of these vitamins and are guaranteed to make your meals that more interesting too.