How Much Folate Do You Need?

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How Much Folate Do You Need?

Hey, you guys, when was the last time you piled your plate high with spinach, lentils, a nice artichoke and a papaya? Bet the answer is "Never, YOU Docs." Yet that's what you'd need to get the 700 micrograms of folate we suggest. Why 700 mcg, almost twice what the USDA recommends? You're not up to speed on folate? OK, enough with the wise-guy questions. Answers R us, and the answer is that studies now show 700 mcg a day puts the brakes on hearing loss and helps keep arteries young (which keeps you and your sex life young). It also lowers risky homocysteine, an amino acid that can up the threat of heart disease and maybe dementia. You're probably getting about 300 mcg of folate in food. That's partly because many foods have been enriched with folic acid (synthetic folate) since the 1990s, when it became clear that folate prevents brain and spinal-cord birth defects. Getting the other 400 mcg is simple: Take a multi. We're focusing on folate because some experts now say the average guy in this folic-acid enrichment age is getting plenty. Nope. Folate levels actually have declined, possibly because many people are eating fewer carbs, including fortified ones. Unless you eat a lot of spinach, lentils and fortified foods -- from pasta to juice -- do your body, brain and love life a favor: Take a multi. Half in the morning, half at night, so your levels are stable round the clock. That goes for women -- pregnant or not -- as well. ======== The YOU Docs -- Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz -- are authors of the best-selling "YOU: The Owner's Manual" and "YOU: On a Diet." To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com, the docs' online home.