Estimate your recommended daily folate (vitamin B9) intake based on Australian Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs).
Folate (vitamin B9) is essential for DNA synthesis, cell division, and red blood cell formation. It plays a critical role in:
Neural tube development: Adequate folate before conception and during early pregnancy dramatically reduces the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) such as spina bifida and anencephaly. This is why folate supplementation is so strongly recommended for women who may become pregnant.
Red blood cell production: Folate deficiency causes megaloblastic anaemia — where red blood cells are abnormally large and dysfunctional.
Homocysteine metabolism: Folate helps convert homocysteine to methionine. Elevated homocysteine is associated with increased cardiovascular risk.
Cell growth: All rapidly dividing cells need folate, making it especially important during pregnancy, infancy, and adolescence.
Folate is the natural form of vitamin B9 found in foods. It's absorbed in the small intestine and converted to the active form (5-MTHF) in the gut wall.
Folic acid is the synthetic form used in supplements and fortified foods. It's more stable and has higher bioavailability — about 1.7 times more bioavailable than food folate when taken with food (and about 2 times more when taken on an empty stomach).
Dietary Folate Equivalents (DFE): Because of the bioavailability difference, recommendations are expressed in DFE. The conversion is: 1 µg DFE = 1 µg food folate = 0.6 µg folic acid (taken with food) = 0.5 µg folic acid (on empty stomach).
In Australia, bread-making flour has been mandatory fortified with folic acid since 2009 (except organic flour). This provides an estimated 100–200 µg DFE per day for most Australians.
Some people have MTHFR gene variants that reduce their ability to convert folic acid to the active form. If you have a known MTHFR variant, speak with your GP about whether methylfolate supplements are more appropriate.
Excellent sources (>100 µg per serve): Chicken liver (one of the richest sources), edamame, lentils, chickpeas, black beans, spinach (cooked), asparagus.
Good sources (50–100 µg per serve): Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, beetroot, avocado, oranges, fortified breakfast cereals, bread (due to mandatory fortification).
Moderate sources (25–50 µg per serve): Eggs, lettuce, corn, capsicum, banana, strawberries, peas, nuts.
Tips: Folate is heat-sensitive — steaming vegetables preserves more folate than boiling. Fresh vegetables contain more folate than those stored for long periods. Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, and legumes daily is the best way to meet your folate needs from food.
Folate supplementation is one of the most important things you can do to protect your baby's development. The neural tube (which becomes the brain and spinal cord) closes within the first 28 days of pregnancy — often before many women know they are pregnant.
Current Australian recommendation: All women who could become pregnant should take a 400–500 µg folic acid supplement daily, starting at least one month before conception and continuing through the first trimester (12 weeks).
High-risk women (those with a previous NTD-affected pregnancy, family history of NTDs, diabetes, epilepsy on certain medications, or BMI >30) should take a higher dose of 5 mg folic acid daily — this requires a prescription.
Since about half of all pregnancies in Australia are unplanned, the general advice is that all women of childbearing age who could possibly become pregnant should take folate supplements.
Source: RANZCOG guidelines, NHMRC Nutrient Reference Values.
Consider discussing folate with your GP if you:
Are planning to become pregnant or could become pregnant. Have a history of neural tube defects (personal or family). Are taking medications that interfere with folate (methotrexate, sulfasalazine, certain anti-epileptics). Have a condition affecting nutrient absorption (coeliac disease, IBD, bariatric surgery). Follow a restrictive diet. Have been told you have elevated homocysteine levels. Have a known MTHFR gene variant.
Your GP can check your folate levels with a simple blood test and advise on appropriate supplementation.