Dosage · Supplement
Folate (B9): dosage and how to take it
400 µg folic acid daily, before and through early pregnancy.
- Overall grade
- Grade A
- Last revised
- 0
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
Assembled by the app from other entries in this library. It adds no evidence of its own — follow the links to the entries it draws on.
The evidence in words
How much to take
400 µg/day for anyone who could become pregnant, started before conception; higher doses are used under medical guidance for prior affected pregnancies. General supplementation of 400 µg is reasonable where diets are low in leafy greens and legumes.
Timing & separation
There are no strict timing conflicts on record for Folate (B9); consistency matters more than the exact hour for most goals.
Why the dose is what it is
Folate carries one-carbon units for the synthesis of purines, thymidine, and methionine, making it essential for rapidly dividing cells — including the neural tube that closes in the first month of gestation. It works in tight partnership with B12 in the methylation cycle.
Bottom line
If pregnancy is possible, 400 µg folic acid daily, starting before conception, is one of the best-evidenced supplements in existence. Outside that context it mainly corrects a dietary gap.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Periconceptional
- 400 µg folic acid daily, before and through early pregnancy.
- General
- 400 µg/day if leafy-green and legume intake is low.
Goes with
- Folate (B9)Full Folate (B9) monographEvidence grade A
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Choline: dosage and how to take it425–550 mg/day; more in pregnancy.Evidence grade B
- Folate (B9) for Cardiovascular eventsEvidence grade D — Homocysteine lowering did not cut eventsEvidence grade D
- Folate (B9) for Homocysteine loweringEvidence grade A — Reliable biomarker effectEvidence grade A
- Folate (B9) for Neural-tube defect preventionEvidence grade A — Periconceptional; population + RCTEvidence grade A
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own — it is assembled from the entries it links to, whose sources are on their pages.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.