folic acid

Folate and folic acid are forms of a water-soluble B vitamin. As for folate, it occurs naturally in food, whereas folic acid is merely the synthetic form of this vitamin. Folic acid is undeniably important as it helps your body produce and maintain new cells, and also helps prevent changes to DNA that may lead to cancer. As a medication, folic acid is used to treat folic acid deficiency and certain types of anemia caused by it. Plus, it is sometimes used in combination with other medications to treat pernicious, aplastic, or normocytic anemia. Before you take this medication, you should tell your doctor if you have kidney disease, if you are an alcoholic, or if you have any type of anemia that has not been diagnosed by a doctor and confirmed with laboratory testing. You should also talk to your doctor about taking folic acid during pregnancy or while breast-feeding. As for the side effects, they include skin rash, itching, redness and difficulty breathing. So, if you experience any of them, call your doctor immediately.