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Guys Need Folate, Too

Guys Need Folate, Too (1:10)

Folic acid is heavily encouraged for expectant mothers, but it also offers many health benefits to men, too. In this video, Robin Miller, M.D. talks about the preventative properties of folate and how much we need per day.

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Hi, Dr. Miller with a health tip for the guys. Make sure you're getting plenty of folates. Now you might have heard that women need folates. That's because folate helps prevent birth defects, but you need it just as much. Recent research finds that 700 micrograms of folate a day helps prevent hearing loss and keeps your arteries young.

It also lowers homocysteine. That's an amino acid that can raise your risk of heart disease and maybe dementia too. You're probably getting about 300 micrograms of folate in the food you eat. That's partly because many foods including bread and breakfast cereal have been enriched with folic acid since the 1990s.

In addition to fortified foods, you should load up on spinach, lentils and dried beans. A cup of cooked spinach has 131 micro grams of folate. A half cup of cooked black eyed peas adds another 105 micro grams. You can get the other the micro grams of folate you need in a multivitamin. I'm Dr. Miller.

For more good ways to nourish your health, check out all our smart tips, right here.