Too Much Folate?

[Shananaaah]

Is there such as thing as too much folate/folic acid?

I am TTC, and taking pre-pregnancy supplements, but I also eat alot of folate rich foods in my diet anyway.

Is there a limit of how much folate is too much?

[Briannabear]

Not sure about this one. Ive wondered the same thing myself. Ive had people say to me that you can have too much folate - but Ive never been told just how much is too much.
Interested to know what everyone else thinks!

[the_queen]

I was told by our genetic counsellor (after Vallerie's cleft lip was diagnosed) that I should take "megafol" for future pregnancies. The regular folate tablets have 0.5 mg folate (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) but megafol has 5mg. So I'm not sure there is an upper limit - I think we all would have heard about it if there was.

[Olivia]

GP told me that our body has a natural ability to flush any excess folate out of the system. But then the chemist said that too much folate is not good. I think since some pregnancy supplements actually contain 800mg, it's probably safe to take 'mild' supplements (eg Blackmores - it contains 400mg) and have high-folate diet at the same time. I'm not sure what the 'top threshold' is though.

[pumpkin]

How much Folic acid do I need?
The recommended daily intake of folic acid for all women of childbearing age is at least 400 micrograms (mcg), or 0.4 milligrams (mg). During pregnancy, the recommended dose jumps up to 600 - 800 mcg, or 0.6 - 0.8 mg, a day. If you have a family history of neural-tube defects, you should probably get 4,000 mcg (or 4 mg) of folic acid a day. Most prenatal vitamins contain the appropriate dosage of folic acid along with other vitamins that will help you stay healthy.

Women who have had their first child with a neural tube defect have a higher risk of having a second with the same defect. Healthcare providers now advise these women to take at least 4 milligrams (mg) starting one month before conception, if possible, and continuing through the first three months of pregnancy.

Talk to your doctor about how much you need before and after you conceive. Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, so your body will flush out the excess if you consume too much. For some women, there's an exception to this rule: Getting too much folate may hide a B-12 deficiency, sometimes a problem for vegetarians.


it will jsut flush out the excess