Folic acid, or vitamin B9, is an important water-soluble B vitamin.

The name “folic acid” is a moniker of the fact the vitamin is found in large amounts of dark green leafy vegetables or green “foliage.” It is also an organic acid, hence its name.

Folates are a group of chemically similar compounds in foods. Folic acid is actually a stable synthetic precursor used in and to fortify foods and in different vitamin products. Naturally occurring folates and folic acid are converted to the active form of the vitamin called methyltetrahydrofolate, or MTHF.

The main function of folic acid is in the biochemical process of methylation. Folic acid acts as a reservoir for a methyl group, which is a carbon atom bound to three hydrogen atoms. The methylated folic molecule is then capable of donating the methyl group to many other compounds.

The methyl group acts as a molecule switch, turning on and turning off different chemical reactions.

Methylation plays a very important role in DNA production and protein synthesis. MTHF donates its methyl group to DNA molecules. Depending on the site and location, it then acts as a switch, turning on and turning off different other chemical reactions.

Areas of the body that have high rates........

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