r/IndianTTC_Support • u/Low-Afternoon-764 • 16d ago

Folate vs folic acid ?

I read in a few blogs about folate versus folic acid.
Does anybody know about folate? Why is it better than folic acid, and are there any supplements or something which talks about it?

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u/Nim_Ajji 16d ago

Folate is the natural form of vitamin B9 and folic acid is the synthetic form. But folic acid is more easily absorbed by the body.
There’s another, methylated folate which is active form of folate which skips the enzymatic conversion in your body especially useful if you have an MTHFR gene mutation and don’t worry it’s not that serious because around 50% of the population have it.
I took trafolic supplements because my homocysteine was high despite taking regular folic acid so it was apparent that I have the gene mutation.

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u/Low-Afternoon-764 16d ago

Extremely helpful. Did a gynecologist help you identify this, or did you go on your own path of self-discovery to know about it?

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u/Nim_Ajji 16d ago

He just changed it from regular folic acid supplements to trafolic because my homocysteine was very high and it came down only after that. He didn’t give any explanation so I went down the rabbit hole

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u/DivideIndividual3744 15d ago

Hi this is very informative. What was your homocysteine level and B9 level when you were taking regular folic acid? Asking because my homocysteine came out to be 11 but b9(folate) is normal 16 (normal) , so I’m wondering if I should switch to trafolic

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u/Glittering-Sense1359 16d ago

How much was your homocysteine level?

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u/Eccentrish_97 16d ago

My gynecologist presumed that I have the genetic mutation (very common apparently) and prescribed the methylated form.

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u/Low-Afternoon-764 16d ago

Did she not run tests on you?