Is liver the only good animal/meat source of folate?


#1

I was looking for foods that are high in folate but are animal based, is liver it?

Thanks.


(Bunny) #2

All (below) have NATURAL (non-fortified, un-fortified) folate not the man made stuff (unusable folic acid).

Chia seeds

Brewers yeast (non-fortified)

Nutritional yeast (non-fortified)

Posted this (below) in another post but I think it is good to know even if your not MTHFR because it may still matter?

“… The majority of the pre-packaged. foods found in the grocery store have been through this process and fortified with folic acid. This is bad news for people with the MTHFR mutation. People with this mutation are unable to rid their bodies of folic acid. It builds up, blocking folate receptors and wrecking havoc. This build up is known as folic acid toxicity. Most lab tests do not distinguish between folic acid and folate when measuring blood levels. If folic acid intake is high, the results may show an individual has adequate amounts of folate. This is misleading as the individual actually has high levels of unusable folic acid, with little to no folate. This situation can cause the body to believe it is malnourished and result in unnecessary storing of energy (weight gain). …More


Colorectal cancer and bacon?!?!
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #3

Sources of Folate

Food
Folate is naturally present in a wide variety of foods, including vegetables (especially dark green leafy vegetables), fruits and fruit juices, nuts, beans, peas, seafood, eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry, and grains (Table 2) [4,12]. Spinach, liver, asparagus, and brussels sprouts are among the foods with the highest folate levels.

Table 2: Selected Food Sources of Folate and Folic Acid

———Food Micrograms (mcg) per serving Percent | DV
Beef liver, braised, 3 ounces 215 | 54
Spinach, boiled, ½ cup 131 | 33
Asparagus, boiled, 4 spears 89 | 22
Brussels sprouts, frozen, boiled, ½ cup 78 | 20
Lettuce, romaine, shredded, 1 cup 64 | 16
Avocado, raw, sliced, ½ cup 59 | 15
Spinach, raw, 1 cup 58 | 15
Broccoli, chopped, frozen, cooked, ½ cup 52 | 13
Mustard greens, chopped, frozen, boiled, ½ cup 52 | 13
Crab, Dungeness, 3 ounces 36 | 9
Yeast, baker’s, ¼ teaspoon 23 | 6
Egg, whole, hard-boiled, 1 large 22 | 6
Fish, halibut, cooked, 3 ounces 12 | 3
Ground beef, 85% lean, cooked, 3 ounces 7 | 2
Chicken breast, roasted, 3 ounces 3 | 1

Source:
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/


#4

Okay, thanks guys!


(Terence Dean) #5

I get 50% of my daily folate intake from just 10g of Vegemite.


#6

I think I had that once and no offence…it was pretty bad tasting lol. Is 10 grams a lot?


(Bob M) #7

Vegemite grows on you. I used to eat it all the time, but I ate it on bread (back when I was on a low fat diet). You can also use marmite, which looks to me to be basically the same thing.

I would take a lot of those vegetable sources with a grain of salt. How much of that will be absorbed?


(Bob M) #8

See, for instance:

Check out table 1, for instance, where the actual amount of measured folate went DOWN after eating some of the foods being recommended:


#9

That’s why I was looking for animal sources. I am trying to increase my fertility and I like liver but 5+oz a day is a but much to get all the folate required.

Looking at the animal sources only in the chart above for example I could have as little as 3oz of liver and 4 eggs a day and top up with the beef I eat (I’d only need 11oz- I’m pretty sure I’d eat at least that much). If I chose not to have liver or rely on plant sources at all though, it would be tough to get the required folate. That would mean 16 eggs or 50oz of beef. Crab and halibut are a little too dear. And also if I ever do manage to get pregnant, I think they tell you not to eat liver because too much vitamin A. I never liked the idea of relying on supplements and the more I read about how vegetables are sometimes not absorbed well I worry about relying on them either. Supposedly enough folate prevents neural tube defects and its also good for general reproductive health which as I said is why I am trying to improve the folate content of my diet.

Currently my diet is poor in folate of any kind. I don’t buy liver often because my husband and I buy our meat a cow at a time which obviously = 1 liver. I don’t eat spinach or many vegetables at all and am currently trying to limit all carbs. So my diet is low on this at the moment, the 1-2 eggs I eat in the morning being my only good source right now. I obviously eat beef but lets say I eat 1.5lbs a day (not sure if this is how much I eat because I don’t weigh it but it sounds like the most I’d probably eat)+ eggs would be 60% of the DV.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #10

Like mold.

And tastes just as bad.

The only difference:
Veg = Aussie
Mar = Pommie

:grin::grin:


#11

LOL tell them how you really feel.


(Terence Dean) #12

Nah not really a teaspoon? I normally have 5g on the side of my breakfast plate, goes very well with Bacon & Eggs because its quite savory. Or I’ll dab a piece of cheese with it. The other way is to dissolve it in hot water and drink it like a broth.


#13

I might be able to do that. I think it would be better than copious amounts of spinach or multivitamins. I’m going to try and eat more liver too but IDK if I can eat liver often enough to get enough folate.

Thanks for your help guys!


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

Liver, if it’s not overcooked, is delicious. If it tastes like sandpaper, it was overcooked. :bacon: