The word folate describing the B vitamin originates from the Latin root word folium, which means leaf. Fact: our bodies have to get it from food. Where do you think you find it in abundance? Dark green leafy vegetables. The function associated with folate is varied and works in conjunction with other nutrients. Folate deficiency is common (no surprise, we don’t eat a lot of greens!) and leads to a host of health problems you don’t want including digestive disorders, cardiovascular disease, and most famously perhaps, birth defects. Folate is also crucial in epigenetics (external or environmental factors that switch genes on and off without changing the DNA sequence) through a process known as methylation where folate acts as a methyl donor promoting cellular differentiation. Folate is also essential for DNA and RNA synthesis, amino acid production, and cell division. In short, you really, really need it.