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Although it occurs in both males and females, folic acid deficiency anemia most often affects women over 30. It becomes increasingly common as age impedes the body's ability to absorb folic acid, a water-soluble vitamin that is manufactured by intestinal bacteria and stored for a short time in the liver. Folic acid, folate and folacin refer to one of the B-vitamins required for a healthy body. Folic acid aids in red blood cell production by carrying the carbon molecule to the larger heme molecule, which is the iron-containing part of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying molecule of the red blood cells). With B12, it assists in many amino acid conversions, such as the methylation of methionine, serine, histidine, and even the B vitamin choline. For this reason, pregnancy is a time for concern about sufficient folic acid intake (the RDA doubles during pregnancy).
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