Folic acid is a type of B vitamin that is normally found in foods such as dried beans, peas, lentils, oranges, whole-wheat products, liver, asparagus, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and spinach.
Folic acid 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 (lack of red blood cells) caused by folic acid deficiency.
Folic acid is sometimes used with other medications to treat pernicious anemia. Folic acid used alone will not treat pernicious anemia and other anemias not related to Vitamin B12 deficiency. Take all of your medications as directed.
