Watch our Folate videos - with Dr Hayley Dickinson

"Hey everyone, it’s Dr Hayley Dickinson, founder of Eat for You.

Today we are going to talk about folate, folic acid and why it has such an important role in our body.

Folate is derived from plants, from leafy greens mostly. It’s the naturally occurring form.

Folic acid is a synthetic version, so it’s something that we have tried to recreate in the laboratory. It’s not the same and it actually behaves differently in our body.

Folate is essential for cell division, and particularly when we are on a pregnancy journey, the key thing that allows our baby to grow is cell division. And so that’s why we tend to hear a lot more about folate when we are on a pregnancy journey.

But it’s important that everybody has adequate folate in their diet.

Folate, in addition to helping cells divide, is also really important in the synthesis of DNA and RNA. And is also really important in transporting iron around the body.

At Eat for You, we absolutely love whole food, because folate is just one part of a really complex cellular pathway that allows that division to occur. But the beautiful thing about whole food is that you get all the extra bits that you need to really allow that process to go ahead at its best."

"Hey everyone, it's the Doc!

Just following on from our last video, I thought I would show you some foods that are really high in folate to make it really easy for you to prepare your recipes at home, really maximising the folate that you get in your diet.

Green leafy stuff:

Kale - chop the ends off, throw it in a pan. Really great with eggs, toast etc. You should have leafy greens with every single meal, every single day. They're super super powerful.

Broccoli - I grew up in a household where broccoli was overcooked (sorry, Mum). Don't cook it too much, just enough.

Watercress - just another leafy green. It could be spinach, it could be rocket, silverbeet.. any of them.

Beetroot - excellent source of folate.

Hazelnuts - if you're a nut person.

Red kidney beans.

Muesli with dried fruit.

Avocado.

The other sources that I don't currently have in my house are peanuts, quandong, Chinese flowering cabbage. Another great source of folate that is native to this country is the finger lime (found here in our Summer Lovin' bar).

So, I challenge you to bring some of these foods into your diet every single day. It doesn't matter who you are or what you're up to, everybody needs folate."

 Click for the full recipe - Dr H's Super Dooper Folate Brekky