I have been aware of this topic for a long time. As a breastfeeding counsellor for decades, I had many breastfeeding moms that were told their baby’s tongue tie was connected to ingesting folic acid — either through food or prenatal supplements –during pregnancy. I’m not sure about that, but one thing was clear, the number of tongue ties increased drastically over the years I volunteered helping moms and babies.

Dr Sam Bailey from New Zealand has done a deep dive into folic acid that I found extremely insightful. Here are some things I learned in this comprehensive detailed video (which I have a link for below) :

The fortification of foods with folic acid was first suggested in 1991 and mandated in the USA in 1998. This would explain the sharp increase I noticed among moms struggling with tongue ties.

In this video you will also receive an in depth investigation into the history of folic acid recommendations as well as many helpful suggestions for how a pregnant mom can insure her baby has the best health possible.

I highly recommend this video for all pregnant women.

How to be our healthiest self? Avoid processed foods as much as possible. Most of them contain folic acid, especially commercially made cereal and bread products. Especially avoid labels that state “enriched” or “fortified”. Buy local fresh foods and cook for yourself! Find local suppliers of stone ground whole organic flours.

Folate, the natural form of folic acid is found in leafy greens, beef liver and lentils, among others.

Folate vs Folic Acid.

You might be aware that you should avoid supplements listing folic acid which a synthetic molecule manufactured in a laboratory. But you may not know that even if you see the word ‘folate’ in the ingredient list on your vitamin tablet, what the tablet may contain is synthesized folic acid. If you see “DFE” which means dietary folate equivalent, you can know that the tablet contains the synthetic version. Eating whole foods will provide higher quality nutrition than a tablet.

Becky Hastings collects information on health and tries her best to discover and share truth. By God’s grace, through Jesus Christ, I was saved, blessed with a husband of over 40 years, and five precious babies all grown up. I now get to delight as eleven grandchildren grow! Together we can help each other discover a healthy path in this crazy upside down world.