The 1-3 months before pregnancy, known as the preconception period, is a critical time to supplement with key nutrients like folate to build maternal nutrient stores. 1 Nutritional status at the time of conception is closely linked to healthier pregnancy outcomes, as these stores are essential to support healthy fetal development and growth.2
Getting a head start creates a solid nutritional foundation that supports the health of both mother and baby throughout pregnancy.
Folate: Laying the Groundwork for Brain Development
In the early weeks of pregnancy, folate demands increase to support the formation of the neural tube, which eventually develops into the brain and spinal cord. This process often begins before women realize they’re pregnant, making the preconception period important to optimize folate levels beforehand.1
Folate influences the foundation for key neurodevelopmental processes that support lifelong brain health. With a central role in cellular health, folate contributes to the production of amino acids needed to make neurotransmitters and proteins crucial for brain development.3 It also plays a role in synthesizing DNA and RNA, which are necessary for the formation of early neural pathways. 1
Supporting Cognition at Every Stage
Beyond infancy, folate remains central to DNA repair and synthesis to support the rapid growth of neural cells that occurs in childhood and adolescence. A large study in the Netherlands including over 2,000 children found that maternal folate status during pregnancy was linked to brain volumes in early fetal life, with these differences persisting as children aged.4 This highlights how adequate folate intake during pregnancy lays a foundation for brain development that extends well beyond infancy,
Optifolin+®: A Foundation for Lifelong Brain Health
The form of folate matters. Synthetic folic acid requires multiple conversion steps in the body and can lead to the buildup of unmetabolized folic acid (UMFA), which may be harmful in excess. This unnecessary risk can be minimized by choosing a bioactive folate. In a recent double-blind trial, 62 women in their first trimester supplemented with either folic acid or a bioactive folate that did not require conversion. Those who took bioactive folate maintained healthy folate levels throughout pregnancy without raising UMFA levels, unlike the folic acid group. 5
During a time as critical as pregnancy, every choice matters. Optifolin+® is the bioactive, safe choice for folate supplementation: it is highly bioavailable, does not lead to the accumulation of UMFA, carries no upper safety limit, and is similar to the natural form of folate found in most foods. 6,7 What sets Optifolin+® apart is its choline enrichment, which delivers 7x the methyl groups compared to standard bioactive folates, providing a uniquely high methylation advantage that supports healthy brain development and cognitive function from early infancy to throughout the lifetime.
Foster a healthy early beginning and discover how Optifolin+® can nourish your preconception and prenatal formulations throughout pregnancy and beyond.
