FolaPro - 120 Tablets

FolaPro by Metagenics features Metafolin®, which is the active, preferred form of folate called L-5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (L-5-MTHF).

FolaPro is an excellent source of L-5-MTHF, a metabolically active form of folate. Taking the active form of folate helps to ensure all of the critical benefits of folate nutrition are realized. Because it is already active, this form of folate does not require any additional metabolic steps in order for it to be used by the body. That’s why most people who need to supplement with folate would prefer the L-5-MTHF found in FolaPro.

FolaPro provides the nutrition necessary to support many metabolic processes, including nervous system function, hormone metabolism, homocysteine metabolism, and DNA synthesis.

Many Americans are born with a genetic variation that causes their bodies to improperly utilize folic acid. For those people, L-5-MTHF can be lifesaving. For others, it acts as a way to get more folate in the body from each supplement.

The Importance of Folic Acid

Folic acid is crucial to a biochemical process called methylation. This process refers to the transfer of methyl groups, which takes place billions of times every day. Methyl groups are simply one carbon bound to three hydrogen atoms. This process may sound uncomplicated, but it is essential to your health. Methyl groups are purposely placed on some genes to ensure they remain inactive – this is crucial to health as some genes can lead to disease, such as cancer.

When you eat foods that are rich in folic acid, the body has to work in order to get its benefits. First, it has to be absorbed. Then it has to undergo many biochemical conversions before it becomes L-5-MTHF. About one in three Americans don’t have the enzymes necessary to help the body create L-5-MTHF; therefore, they do not get the benefits of eating folic acid, an essential nutrient.

Whether you have this issue or not, supplementing with FolaPro can help ensure that you’ll get the benefits of folic acid. The L-5-MTHF plays a vital role in DNA repair and synthesis. So much so, that low levels of this form of folic acid have been linked to various cancers, including childhood leukemia, colon and breast cancer.

L-5-MTHF (Metafolin in FolaPro) also plays a vital role in metabolizing serotonin and dopamine. Because of this, a folic acid deficiency can lead to symptoms of depression. The active form of folate also plays an important role in detoxification, including ridding the body of common environmental toxins such as lead, mercury, arsenic and tin, in addition to medications and estrogen. If your body can’t properly detoxify estrogen, it can build up in the system and lead to breast or prostate cancer, endometriosis and uterine fibroids. Since histamine is also detoxified by methylation, low levels of active folic acid, such as that found in Metagenics’ FolaPro, can lead to allergy symptoms.

In order to ensure that you are getting all of the benefits from your folic acid supplementation, you should supplement with the active form of folic acid, such as the Metafolin found in FolaPro.