Folic Acid And Plants

The fruit of avocado plants are a rich source of folate, which is natural folic acid.

Folic acid is the man-made form of folate, a B vitamin complex that occurs naturally in many plants. Eating Right Ontario notes that folate helps maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, lowers the chance of birth defects and prevents anemia. Incorporate these plants into your diet to get more folate if you don't want to rely on folic acid supplements, especially if you plan on becoming pregnant.

Edible Fruit Plants

WebMD notes that many plants bear edible fruit that have naturally high folate levels. Bananas, strawberries, raspberries, pineapples, citrus, including lemons, oranges and grapefruit, as well as certain melons, particularly cantaloupe and honeydew, are all plants that bear fruit with a lot of natural folic acid. Variations of these plant products, such as juice or dried fruit snacks, are also good sources of folate.

Vegetable Plants

Several vegetables are also listed by WebMD as folate-rich foods. Dark, leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, romaine lettuce, turnip greens, mustard greens, broccoli and bok choy have high folate levels, as do asparagus, okra and Brussels sprouts. Other vegetables that have naturally high folate levels include beets, tomatoes and corn.

Legumes

Legumes, members of the botanical family Fabaceae, are another group of plants that have naturally high folate levels. Mother Nature's wide selection of beans, including soybeans, lima beans, kidney beans and mung beans, peas and lentils are an excellent source of organic folic acid whether eaten fresh or cooked after they have been dried.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are edible fungi that have high levels of folate. However, mushrooms aren't technically a plant, as the Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, points out -- they are members of the Kingdom Fungi. Never-the-less, mushrooms are a great source of natural folic acid, as well as several other vitamins and minerals essential for good health.

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