Folic acid, a B vitamin, is essential for our health, especially for making red blood cells. If you don’t get enough, you can develop anemia, which is when your body doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen.
Folic acid, or folates, is a water-soluble vitamin found in foods like beans, tomatoes, and oranges, as well as offal. However, it can be destroyed by heat. Its active form, tetrahydrofolic acid (THF), helps produce coenzymes involved in amino acid metabolism and the synthesis of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA. It works alongside another B vitamin, cobalamin, to produce DNA and RNA, convert homocysteine to methionine, and metabolize other amino acids.
If folic acid levels drop, it can lead to a range of issues, including reduced DNA and RNA synthesis. This hinders the body鈥檚 ability to replace old or damaged cells, affecting tissues that need regular cell turnover, such as nervous tissue, which can cause developmental problems in fetuses and brain degeneration in older adults. It also impacts red blood cell production, potentially leading to anemia.
This type of anemia results from low folic acid and/or cobalamin levels and can occur for several reasons:
1. Dietary Deficiency: Because folic acid is heat-sensitive, cooking can destroy it. Some plant foods also contain molecules that prevent its absorption.
2. Impaired Absorption: This is rare but more common in people who’ve had parts of their digestive tract surgically removed.
3. Medications: Drugs like methotrexate, barbiturates, and contraceptives can interfere with folic acid metabolism, so those taking these medications need to ensure they get enough folate.
4. Genetic Factors: Mutations in the MTHFR gene can hinder the body’s ability to process folate, increasing the risk of deficiency anemia due to reduced folate levels in the blood.
Anemia from folic acid deficiency is marked by the production of immature, larger, and less efficient red blood cells. Symptoms are similar to those of cobalamin deficiency, including fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, and neurological problems like numbness, poor reflexes, and bad motor coordination.
