Pharmaceutical Grade Methyl Folate
5-Methylfolate (5-MTHF) is the biologically active form of the B9 vitamin folate.
5-Methylfolate is directly bioavailable and therefore easy for the body to use. Folic acid is a synthetic compound not found in nature but used in fortification and dietary
supplementation programs, which however entails several limitations.
To be used by the body, synthetic folic acid must be metabolized via a series of conversions into 5-MTHF, the bioavailable form necessary for the conversion of the amino acid homocysteine to essential methionine. The body uses methionine to make proteins and other important compounds.
Methylfolate is the body’s preferred form of folate and the body’s easiest way to achieve a balanced folate intake. Up to 25% of the population may carry an MTHF polymorphism impairing them from processing folic acid provided via dietary supplements to the bioavailable form.
MTHFR polymorphisms also have been linked to increased risks of several pathologies. For those who have this polymorphism, supplementing their diet with folic acid will be ineffective and eventually lead to critical levels of unmetabolized folic acid circulating in the body.
Methylfolate serves as a first choice and the easiest way to achieve a balanced, biologically active folate intake.
Folate Benefits
Sufficient folate levels are essential throughout life, from preconception to adulthood, to reduce the risk of growth and birth anomalies during pregnancy and to promote nervous system, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, or bone health.
Folate insufficiency is causally related to several diseases, the most well-known of which is anemia. Low folate is also related to pregnancy complications and poor outcomes such as neural tube defects.
Folate deficiency may affect growth and development of infants and children, may cause infertility in men and women, and has been related to the risk of stroke, dementia, depression, and bone fractures in the elderly, as well as cardiovascular diseases and fatty liver.