What is folic acid?

Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin. It’s a synthetic version of folate, one of the B vitamins (1Trusted Source).

Because your body can’t make folate, you need to get it from your diet.

Some foods naturally contain folate. Folic acid is added to other foods. You can also get folic acid from dietary supplements (2Trusted Source).

What’s the difference between folate and folic acid?

Although the terms “folate” and “folic acid” are often used interchangeably, they are actually different forms of the same vitamin: vitamin B9.

Folic acid has a different structure than folate and has slightly different effects in your body. “Folate” is the generic name that encompasses all forms of vitamin B9, including folic acid and 5-MTHF. Folic acid is a specific synthetic form of this vitamin (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source).

You can find folate in plant and animal foods like these (1Trusted Source):

• spinach
• kale
• broccoli
• avocado
• citrus fruits
• eggs
• beef liver

Folic acid is added to foods such as flour, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, and breads (4, 5Trusted Source).

It’s also in dietary supplements, such as multivitamins (1Trusted Source, 4).