Folic acid (folate)
The intake recommendations (D-A-CH reference values) of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) presented below are aimed at healthy people of normal weight. They do not refer to the supply of sick and convalescent people. Individual requirements may therefore be higher than the DGE recommendations (e.g. due to diet, consumption of stimulants, long-term medication, etc.).
Furthermore, you will find the safe daily maximum amount (Tolerable Upper Intake Level) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA/SCF) in the table on the right. This value reflects the safe maximum amount of a micronutrient (vital substance) that does not cause any side effects when taken daily from all sources (food and supplements) for a lifetime.
Recommended intake
| Age | Folic acid (dietary folate) | |
| µg-equivalenta/day | Tolerable Upper Intake Level of SCFd(µg) | |
| Infanteb | ||
| 0 to under 4 months | 60 | – – |
| 4 to under 12 months | 80 | – – |
| Children and teenagers | ||
| 1 to under 4 years | 120 | 200 |
| 4 to under 7 years | 140 | 300 |
| 7 to under 10 years | 180 | 400 |
| 10 to under 13 years | 240 | 600 |
| 13 to under 15 years | 300 | 600 |
| 15 to under 19 yearsc | 300 | 800 |
| Adults | ||
| 19 to under 25 yearsc | 300 | 1.000 |
| 25 to under 51 yearsc | 300 | 1.000 |
| 51 to under 65 years | 300 | 1.000 |
| 65 years and older | 300 | 1.000 |
| Pregnantc | 550 | 1.000 |
| Breastfeeding | 450 | 1.000 |
aCalculated according to the sum of folate-active compounds in the usual diet (folate equivalents).
bEstimates
cWomen who want to become pregnant or who might become pregnant should take 400 µg of synthetic folic acid per day in the form of a supplement in addition to a folate-rich diet to prevent neural tube defects. This additional intake of a folic acid supplement should begin at least 4 weeks before the onset of pregnancy and be maintained throughout the 1st trimester of pregnancy.
dTolerable Upper Intake Level (safe total daily intake) from the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) [amounts apply to folic acid in the form of pteroylglutamic acid (PGA)].
Caution!This increased folic acid intake should be taken no later than 4 weeks before the onset of pregnancy and maintained during the first trimester of pregnancy.As part of the standardization of European regulations, valid Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were issued in the European Union (EU) and made mandatory for nutrition labeling in 1990 in Directive 90/496/EEC. An update of this directive took place in 2008. In 2011, the RDA values were replaced by NRV values (Nutrient Reference Value) in Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011. The NRV values indicate the amount of vitamins, minerals and trace elements that an average person should consume daily to meet their needs.
| Vitamin | NRV |
| Folic acid* | 200 µg |
* Folic acid in the form of pteroylglutamic acid (PGA) [equivalent to 333 to 400 µg folate equivalents (FEC)].
Caution!An NRV is not an indication of maximum amounts or upper limits – see “Tolerable Upper Intake Level” (UL) above. NRV values also do not take into account gender and age – see above under Recommendations of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) e. V..
