Falling ill or getting sick certainly will cause someone to have some impairment to their usual daily activities. A sick person can either choose to go straight to the doctor or even try to treat themselves by buying over the counter (OTC) medicine in the pharmacy. Either way, taking medicine or supplements can be somewhat tedious even for a matured adult, let alone children and picky eaters. What happens if you or someone you are taking care of chew folic acid?
Before answering that, what is folic acid? Folic acid is a form of folate, a B-vitamin. There are 8 types of vitamin B and folate is vitamin B9. The main difference between folate and folic acid is, folate is naturally present in many foods while folic acid is a man-made vitamin B9. Both folate and folic acid have the same effect in the human body even coming from different sources. High content of folate can be found in beef liver, asparagus and spinach. Folic acid on the other hand is usually added to fortify breakfast cereal, wheat flour, pasta and even some bread.
We can find a variety of folic acid supplements in the market. It is important to note that not all supplements containing the same main ingredient are made into the same form. Folic acid supplementation usually exists in the form of tablets or liquid but nowadays we are seeing in much more attractive form of chewable gummies. Back to the question of what happens if you chew folic acid… it is actually quite dangerous if you were chewing tablets.
You are probably asking how a harmless act of chewing the tablet can cause some danger. There are few reasons why you should not chew the folic acid tablet. A tablet can have some coating which helps it to work better in the body. A tablet’s coating such as enteric coating helps the tablet reach the target site and not be easily destroyed by the acid in the gut system. This is important for the tablet to be absorbed fully by the body. Hence, it is mandatory to swallow it as whole when possible or split it into half. By chewing the tablet, you might actually cause the tablet to become ineffective and lessen the original dose that is meant for the body.
If you are thinking of chewing any supplement or medicine, you need to make sure that it is meant to be chewed. The product’s label should help you find any word indicating it is chewable. Chewable products are specifically designed to make sure consumers are getting enough dose of what they are taking and does not affect the effectiveness. Just a gentle reminder, make sure you chew it thoroughly to avoid choking and swallow carefully. Thus, if you are keen on chewing folic acid supplements, you might want to find chewable gummies or chewable tablets. You can also opt for liquid form since it is much easier.
In essence, a folic acid tablet is not supposed to be chewed unless it is chewable. To gain maximum benefits of folic acid, consumers need to take it in the form that is most suitable and convenient for them. Maintenance of folic acid is essential for humans as folic acid is responsible for the formation of red blood cells and the nerve system. Deficiency of folic acid may cause someone to experience anaemia and especially in pregnant women, there will be higher risk for babies having neural tube defects, born premature or a low birth weight baby.
