Bottom line: if you rarely eat folate-rich foods or foods supplemented with folic acid, the result may be a high level of homocysteine in the blood which may negatively affect heart function and health.

What to do: add folate foods and/ or folic acid enriched foods to your diet everyday and/or take a supplement that contains folic acid.

Food sources of folate include:
Kidney beans, pinto beans and other beans
Lentils, asparagus, avocado, spinach and leafy greens, citrus fruits and juices

In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) passed regulations requiring the addition of folic acid to enriched bread, cereals, flours, corn meals, pastas, rice and other grain products.

Food sources of folic acid include enriched products such as:
Oatmeal
Ready to eat cereals
Breads
Crackers
Pasta
Rice