Foods High in Folate: UK Portions, Folate vs Folic Acid, and Cooking

The foods highest in folate are liver (207 to 1,350 micrograms per 100 g by type), pulses such as blackeye beans, pinto beans and lentils (145 to 210 micrograms per 100 g boiled), green vegetables led by Brussels sprouts, asparagus, kale, spinach and purple sprouting broccoli, beetroot, and fortified breakfast cereals; yeast extract is the richest spread at 2,620 micrograms per 100 g, so a 4 g scrape on toast gives about 105.¹ Adults need 200 micrograms of folate a day, and women who could become pregnant are advised to take a 400 microgram folic acid supplement on top until they are 12 weeks pregnant.² Two things decide how much of the folate on your plate you get. Boiling halves it: boiled spinach kept 49% of its folate and boiled broccoli 44%, while steaming lost none to speak of.³ And food folate is absorbed less completely than folic acid: in a 30-day trial, spinach folate was about 30% as available as a folic acid tablet and yeast folate 59%.⁴ For what folate does and the deficiency signs, see folate deficiency symptoms; the UK units are on the vitamins and minerals guide.

Evidence at a glance

• Food figures: CoFID 2021, the government's food composition dataset, per 100 g, converted to UK portions here.¹
• Cooking losses: a 2002 UK study assayed raw and cooked foods; boiled spinach and broccoli lost about half, steamed lost no significant amount.³
• Bioavailability: a randomised 30-day trial in 73 men compared 200 micrograms from folic acid, spinach and yeast.⁴
• Methylfolate: one randomised 24-week trial in 144 women compared it with folic acid on red cell folate; no neural tube defect trial exists for it.^{5, 6}

Sources checked on 29 October 2026.

Which foods are highest in folate per UK portion?

Percentages are of the 200 microgram adult reference intake. Cooked foods are given as eaten.^{1, 2}

Fortified cereals range from about 45 to 120 micrograms a 30 g bowl by product (malted wheat 150, rice crisps 180, bran flakes 367 micrograms per 100 g); unfortified versions carry 7 to 27.¹ Liver is not advised in pregnancy because of its vitamin A.² A bowl of fortified cereal, a pulse at lunch or dinner and a steamed green vegetable reach 200 micrograms with room to spare.

Folate or folic acid: what is the difference?

Folate is the family of forms found in food; folic acid is the stable synthetic form used in supplements and fortified foods, and both are converted to the same active form the body uses. The difference that matters is how much gets in. In a randomised trial, 73 men took 200 micrograms a day for 30 days as a folic acid tablet, as spinach folate or as yeast folate: folic acid raised serum folate and lowered homocysteine, the two natural sources did not change either significantly, and their estimated bioavailability relative to folic acid was 30% for spinach and 59% for yeast.⁴ That gap is why the pregnancy advice is a 400 microgram folic acid supplement rather than a food target.⁶ Folate contributes to normal blood formation, to reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to maternal tissue growth during pregnancy, the authorised wordings behind the advice. What folic acid does for a woman and folic acid in pregnancy cover that side.

Is methylfolate better than folic acid?

It depends what you measure. Methylfolate (5-methyltetrahydrofolate) is the form that circulates in blood, and on folate status it performs at least as well: in a double-blind trial of 144 women, 416 micrograms a day for 24 weeks raised red cell folate significantly more than an equimolar 400 micrograms of folic acid.⁵ On the outcome that matters most the evidence belongs to folic acid: every trial showing fewer neural tube defects used it, no methylfolate trial on that outcome exists, and UK advice names folic acid.^{2, 6} So methylfolate is a reasonable way to raise folate status, and folic acid is the form with the pregnancy evidence.

What does cooking do to folate?

Folate is water-soluble and heat-sensitive, so the method decides what reaches the plate. A UK study assayed foods raw and cooked as local shoppers cooked them: boiled spinach fell from 192 to 94 micrograms per 100 g (49% retained) and boiled broccoli from 177 to 77 (44%), while steaming either produced no significant loss; whole potatoes boiled for an hour and grilled beef kept theirs.³ CoFID shows the same pattern: green broccoli is 95 micrograms raw, 72 steamed and 34 boiled.¹ Steam or microwave greens, use the cooking water in soups, and eat salad leaves raw (rocket 88, lettuce 60 micrograms per 100 g).

What will UK flour fortification change?

From 13 December 2026, non-wholemeal wheat flour must contain 0.250 mg (250 micrograms) of folic acid per 100 g under regulations made in November 2024; wholemeal flour is exempt.⁷ The government's 2021 announcement estimated around 200 neural tube defects a year prevented, about a fifth of the UK total, and repeated that women who could become pregnant should still take 400 micrograms daily.⁸ White bread, pizza bases, biscuits and cakes will then carry folic acid; the bread figures in the table are for today's unfortified loaves.

Which fruit is highest in folate?

Strawberries (61 micrograms per 100 g, about 49 in an 80 g portion), raspberries (55), oranges and kiwi (33 each) and blackberries (34). Mango is 24, banana 14 and papaya only 1 microgram per 100 g; Hass avocado is 31, about 25 in a half.¹ Fruit contributes; pulses, greens and fortified foods do the heavy lifting.

Who needs more than food gives?

Women who could become pregnant (400 micrograms of folic acid daily until 12 weeks, or a 5 mg prescription dose at higher risk); people on methotrexate, some anti-epileptics, sulfasalazine or colestyramine, whose folate the prescriber manages; and anyone with coeliac disease, heavy alcohol use or a very poor diet, after a blood test that includes B12.^{2, 9} The NHS ceiling for folic acid from supplements is 1 mg a day, because higher doses can mask the symptoms of a B12 deficiency.² For everyone else the table covers it, and a B complex or multivitamin supplying 200 to 400 micrograms of folic acid is a sensible hedge for the days it does not; folate contributes to normal function of the immune system and to normal psychological function at those levels. What B complex is for places folate among the other B vitamins.

What we don't know

• The exact folate in your portion. Variety, freshness and cooking time change it; CoFID gives one value per food. Its edamame figure (15 micrograms per 100 g boiled) is far below values in other national tables.¹
• Whether methylfolate prevents neural tube defects. No trial has tested it on that outcome.⁶
• How much folic acid a fortified slice will carry once the 2026 rules apply; the level is set per 100 g of flour, not per loaf.⁷

Frequently asked questions

Which food is richest in folate?

Liver, then yeast extract by weight and blackeye beans by portion: 100 g of fried chicken liver holds 1,350 micrograms, 150 g of boiled blackeye beans 315.¹

What drink is high in folic acid?

Orange juice, at 22 to 32 micrograms per 100 ml, so 33 to 48 in a 150 ml glass; tea, coffee and water carry none worth counting.¹

How do you get 100% of your folate from food?

A 30 g bowl of fortified bran flakes (110), 80 g of boiled sprouts (99) and 120 g of canned chickpeas (42) come to 251 micrograms, over the 200 microgram need.^{1, 2} Pregnancy needs folic acid on top.

Are bananas high in folic acid?

No: 14 micrograms in a medium banana, 7% of the daily need.¹

Is folic acid in flour bad for you?

Not at the level set. From 13 December 2026 non-wholemeal wheat flour carries 250 micrograms of folic acid per 100 g of flour, so a slice adds a fraction of that, far below the NHS ceiling of 1 mg a day from supplements, set because higher doses can mask a B12 deficiency.^{2, 7} The government expects around 200 neural tube defects a year prevented and keeps the 400 microgram advice.⁸

Sources

1. Public Health England. McCance and Widdowson's Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID), 2021 release, table 1.5 Vitamins, folate per 100 g. gov.uk.
2. NHS. Vitamins and minerals: B vitamins and folic acid. Page reviewed 3 August 2020. nhs.uk; NHS, Vitamins and minerals: vitamin A, reviewed 3 August 2020. Great Britain nutrition and health claims register for the authorised wordings.
3. McKillop DJ, et al. The effect of different cooking methods on folate retention in various foods that are amongst the major contributors to folate intake in the UK diet. British Journal of Nutrition, 2002. PubMed 12493090. Laboratory assay of raw and cooked foods with a 100-shopper questionnaire.
4. Hannon-Fletcher MP, et al. Determining bioavailability of food folates in a controlled intervention study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2004. PubMed 15447898. Randomised controlled trial, 96 men randomised, 73 completed, 30 days.
5. Lamers Y, et al. Red blood cell folate concentrations increase more after supplementation with [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate than with folic acid in women of childbearing age. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006. PubMed 16825690. Randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 144 women, 24 weeks; funding not stated in the abstract.
6. Viswanathan M, et al. Folic acid supplementation to prevent neural tube defects: updated evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA, 2023. PubMed 37526714. Systematic review, US government funded.
7. The Bread and Flour (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/1162, made 13 November 2024. legislation.gov.uk.
8. Department of Health and Social Care. Folic acid added to flour to prevent spinal conditions in babies. 20 September 2021. gov.uk.
9. NHS. Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia: causes. Page reviewed 20 February 2023. nhs.uk.

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This article is general information, not medical advice. Women who could become pregnant should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily regardless of diet; anyone with symptoms of deficiency should see their GP for a blood test that includes B12.