Folic acid is a B vitamin necessary for proper cell growth and formation of new red blood cells. If your are pregnant and breastfeeding, take 800 micrograms of folic acid daily. Do not take more than 1000 micrograms daily. Folate and folic acid are the same vitamin. Folate is found naturally in food.
Folic acid is the synthetic form added to vitamins and enriched foods.
With your daily vitamin supplement also eat foods rich in folate. Read food labels for good sources of folic acid. Eat foods with folate - orange juice, green vegetables, liver, beans, nuts, lentils. Folic acid taken before pregnancy may help prevent other birth defects that include cleft lip and cleft palate as well as some congenital heart defects, limb-reduction defects and urinary tract defects. Studies have shown that taking folic acid may lower the risk for heart disease, stroke and cancers of the cervix, colon and lung.