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Folic Acid Deficiency in Adults -11 Signs Your Body Needs More Folic Acid

The deficiency of folic acid or Vitamin B9 or, in medical term, ‘Folate Deficiency’ can be fatal to your body. However, it is naturally present in most of your regular citrus juices and dark green vegetables.

However, Folate Deficiency can turn into a severe disorder if not treated on time for people who survive on junks.

Folate Deficiency or Folic Acid deficiency often goes unnoticed because of its subtle signs, which you confuse easily with other problems. Thus, it is of utmost importance that you educate yourselves on identifying the signs indicating that your body is in dire need of Folic Acid. Let’s take a look.

 

Folic Acid Deficiency Symptoms in Adults

Folic acid deficiency symptoms in adults can cause mental and physical problems, which, if given indulgence, will surely take over your whole life. 

1. Cognitive Problems ( Neurological )

Folic acid is essential for the central nervous system to function correctly. Thus, deficiency of folic acid can stir up depression, make your memory weak, and it can seriously damage your concentration.

The power of folic acid is so strong on your central nervous system that an insufficient intake of folic acid for an extended time can be the root cause of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

While mental health issues should be treated with proper care and caution, the importance of having a balanced diet cannot be overlooked in any mental health issues. And among most of the vitamins, folic acid is the main villain that possesses power over your nervous system’s function.

 

2. Body Aches

Along with various cognitive issues, folic acid can cause your regular headaches, which you thought, were happening due to sleep problems or stress.

The deficiency of folic acid eventually breaks off the supply of oxygen to your brain, and it causes severe headaches as the arteries of the brain swells up. Also, the insufficient supply of oxygen to different parts of our body can cause body pain in other parts of our body and leg cramps.

 

3. Shortness of Breath

The supply of oxygen to our brain and different parts of our body is directly linked to our lungs as well. As folic acid breaks off the supply of oxygen, it can lead to shortness of breath or tightness of the chest.

In general, shortness of breath is not a significant sign of deficiency of folic acid. However, if any other symptoms accompany shortness of breath, it should be appropriately treated as a deficiency of folic acid in your body.

 

4 Stomach Issues

Severe digestive problems, including stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, or nausea, are the sign of junk food intake and a red signal to have more folic acid concentrated nutrition daily.

Folic acid plays a direct role in all the digestive issues that you face, and with the right amount of folic acid included in your diet, you can prevent that quite easily.

 

5.Weakness and Sore Mouth

Although this might sound like a very vague sign, weakness and having a sore mouth are two of the most important signs that we face when your body lacks the necessary folic acid.

Folic acid essentially helps in building up the hemoglobin, and hemoglobin keeps our energy level intact. This can also cause fatigue and turn our skin pale.

Sore in the mouth, the swollen tongue is caused mainly by the deficiency of folic acid.

 

6. Loss of Taste

Regular intake of insufficient folic acid eventually deactivates papillae or the taste receptors of our tongue, and in turn, we become unable to taste any food.

Our tongue swelling up is the first symptom of folate deficiency, while losing the sense of taste is the second.

 

7. Hand Numbness

Hand numbness or a continuous tingling feeling in your hand is another very prominent sign of folate deficiency that you usually ignore most of the time.

Not only in hands, but the numbness can also be felt at feet and other extremities of your body. While the stroke is usually identified with body part numbness symptoms, folic acid might play a significant role in this case.

 

8. Glossitis

Glossitis is the tongue’s swelling due to a lack of folic acid if ignored for an extended period.

It can occur in megaloblastic anemia, which is also caused by the deficiency of folic acid. In the case of glossitis, the tongue swells up abnormally and becomes very sore as well.

 

9. Grey Hair

While finding grey hair at a young age is often linked to liver problems, the underlying villain could be folic acid.

The deficiency of folic acid can turn your hair grey in no time, and if the condition worsens, the situation becomes irreversible as well.

 

10. Growth Problems

Folic acid interferes with your body’s growth hormone and plays an essential role in your growth, especially for the fetus. Thus, pregnant women are highly suggested to intake more folic acid to be born with folate deficiency.

 

10. Tinnitus and Palpitation

Tinnitus is defined as hearing sounds coming from inside the body, making people develop extreme OCD behaviour and schizophrenia. Folate deficiency also causes palpitation, which develops many cognitive problems such as GAD or General Anxiety Disorder.

 

Sources of Folic Acid

Folic Acid or Folate belongs to the essential Vitamin B family, and it is categorized as Vitamin B9 in the list of body minerals. Folic acid takes part in developing new cells and provides nurturing nutrients to Red Blood Corpuscles.

Also, folic acid plays a significant role in preventing rapid changes in DNA, which helps prevent cancer.

Dried beans, lentils, peas, beets, broccoli, Brussel’s sprouts, spinach are the most common food source of folic acid. Apart from these vegetables, folic acid is also present in most leafy green vegetables and cereals that we consume daily.

Eggs and beef liver are the two most important sources of folic acid. Also, papaya and banana demand to be full of vitamin B9, which is ignored by most.