Children, Language Development and Folic Acid

Children, Language Development and Folic Acid

Katie Stone - Naturopath

Written By:

Katie Stone - Naturopath
Kari Asadorian - Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Medical Reviewer:

Kari Asadorian - Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Jamie Hope - Founder of Methyl-Life

Edited By:

Jamie Hope - Founder of Methyl-Life

Updated On:

May 20, 2025

Table of Contents

  1. How do children typically learn a language?
    1. So, why do some children struggle to develop language properly?
      1. What Is Folic Acid?
        1. Can Folic Acid Affect Language Development in Children?
          1. What causes folic acid deficiency in children?
          2. What Else Affects Language Development in Children?
            1. How Can We Reduce the Risk of Folate Deficiency in Children?

              Having a child is one of the most -- if not the most -- rewarding journeys you’ll experience in your life, but it will come with a wide range of challenges and responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is making sure your child remains healthy on a daily basis, especially in the early years when growth and development is at its peak.


              While your child’s first steps will likely be one of the first major milestones you record, their first words will be one of the most memorable moments of their young life -- at least for their parents. Because of this, you’ll want to monitor their language development closely and ensure they’re being raised in an environment that encourages their development.

              How do children typically learn a language?

              Language development in children is generally acquired through interaction with the parents, other family members, and other children they come across. By watching others speak, conversate, and interact with each other, the child will learn to do so themselves.


              Believe it or not, this interaction has to be developed face-to-face. In a digital world, that might be a little difficult to wrap your head around, but children wouldn’t be able to learn a language properly if they only heard it via the television or the internet.


              As you can likely imagine, being raised in a friendly household that expresses themselves often will be a great place for a child to grow up. They need attention just as much as anyone else!


              Also Read: Can Folate Supplementation Have Benefits During Pregnancy and After Childbirth?

              So, why do some children struggle to develop language properly?

              In some cases, your child might experience something known as language delay. This can include a wide range of symptoms such as failure to babble at around 15 months, failure to talk by the age of two, or failure to speak sentences by the age of three.


              Language delay can also refer to the inability to follow directions and fulfill demands, poor pronunciation, struggling to use words correctly, or frequently leaving words out of a sentence.


              There are a variety of possible causes surrounding language delays, including hearing impairments, autism, intellectual disruptions, and physiological disruptions. For the most part, healthcare professionals will typically contribute language delays to another underlying health condition that acts as a precursor to the delay.


              One of these health conditions is a folate deficiency, which is often included as a possibility anytime a child’s growth or development is in question. Folate is essential to a child’s early years and supplementation will often be required in women long before they get pregnant -- but can the lack of this fundamental nutrient really lead to language delays in your child?


              We’ll discuss this in further detail below! Also Read: Choosing the Right Methylfolate Supplement

              What Is Folic Acid?

              Folic acid, much like any other vitamin, will come with its fair share of confusion due to that fact that there are many different forms available. For the most part, you’ll see folic acid used as an umbrella term for Vitamin B9 but it’s much more specific than that. In fact, Vitamin B9 is the proper umbrella term for Vitamin B9.


              Folic acid is the synthetic form of Vitamin B9, meaning it’s the form made by man chemically and ‘added into our foods or supplements’. This is called fortification and has been required by the government for many years now in an effort to reduce vitamin deficiencies in the general population. There’s also a natural form of Vitamin B9, which is known as dihydrofolate and is found naturally in the food we eat.


              When comparing the two, folate is considered a better source of Vitamin B9 because there is one less conversion step required in the body for it to become the active form the body needs to kick off all of the necessary downstream enzymatic processes for optimal health. However, both forms are equally as problematic when it comes to a very common genetic mutation that a majority of the population has (MTHFR) which makes it very hard for the body to convert folate into methylfolate (the active, bioavailable version of folate the body needs for absorption and direct use). Some believe that folic acid is much easier to consume when found in a cheap, generic supplement. As a result, many people will have higher amounts of folic acid in their system -- as opposed to folate.


              Folic acid supplementation will also largely be recommended to pregnant women, since it is so foundational for building the body’s central nervous system, including its neural tube, or early brain and spinal cord. In recent years, a MUCH more effective supplement has been introduced to the community known as methylfolate -- the active form of Vitamin B9 that can be immediately used by the body. This form of Vitamin B9 is the most effective form because it bypasses the entire folate metabolism genetic conversion process, of which there are actually four main enzymatic conversions that are required to make folic acid into the methylfolate your body needs. These genes, if mutated, can cause roadblocks that prevent the absorption of the form of folic acid. Long story short, if you value your health and the foundational building blocks that the nutrient folate must do within your body, then don’t take a chance ‘hoping’ your body can convert folate into methylfolate. Just reach for the more immediately effective supplement form that can bypass the complicated conversion process and go with an L-Methylfolate option instead...


              Also Read: Understanding Vitamin B Deficiency

              Can Folic Acid Affect Language Development in Children?

              One of the most popular studies on this subject looked at nearly 40,000 Norwegian children and their mothers. Some of the mothers were not given a folic acid supplement, some were given a folic acid supplement, and some were given a folic acid supplement combined with other supplements.


              The results showed that there was a correlation between folic acid supplementation and a reduced risk of a language delay in children aged three years old. The mothers were asked to rate their child on a scale from 1-6 in terms of how well they were forming sentences, which determined the severity of language delay in the children.


              The mothers who were given folic acid supplementation saw the reduction in language delay, as well as a reduction in other neurodevelopmental disorders.

              What causes folic acid deficiency in children?

              Folic acid deficiency in children can be caused by a wide range of issues. First and foremost, ensuring the mother follows a proper folate supplementation protocol before, during, and after pregnancy is essential to the child’s early growth and development.


              As you start to introduce your child to food, folic acid deficiency -- which is really referring to methylfolate deficiency -- can present itself in a variety of ways. Not receiving enough folate can be difficult to avoid, but consuming too much folic acid (through supplements and/or fortified foods) can also cause harm in the body, especially if too much UMFA (unmetabolized folic acid) develops. UMFA can build up when folic acid is given to people with folate metabolism mutations - and it has been linked to cancer by some studies. So the key to being safe and ensuring your child has enough methylfolate in their body is really to stick to a healthy diet AND consider a quality L-Methylfolate supplement to give the body the ‘right form’ of the folate it needs to ensure health at the building block level.


              Some bodies can convert both folic acid and folate into the absorbable form, methylfolate, but many cannot and won’t likely even know it. So it will certainly be a much easier and safer process to supplement with methylfolate -- which is why it is the preferred form over folic acid these days. A quality L-Methylfolate is definitely more expensive, but don’t let the cost cause you to compromise with your health and resort to the unknowns of synthetic folic acid.


              A final cause for concern in children (and adults) is genetic mutations in the folate metabolism pathway responsible for converting folic acid or folate to methylfolate. There are a few different genes that act on folate to reduce it and create the necessary enzymatic reactions required to get the methylfolate form the body can directly utilize. Of course the most famous of these is the MTHFR gene/enzyme, but it is only one of a few along this important Vitamin B9 pathway.


              Also Read:Folic Acid to Boost Memory?

              What Else Affects Language Development in Children?

              Outside of folate deficiency, there have been several health conditions that have raised eyebrows as possible causes of a language delay in children. To give you a better idea of all the things that could be affecting your child’s ability to develop proper language, we’ve listed them all below:


              • Difficulty pronouncing words or making certain sounds
              • Hearing loss at an early age
              • Difficulty understanding what others are saying
              • Neglect or abuse at home, especially not receiving enough attention
              • Neurological problems such as cerebral palsy
              • Injuries to the brain
              • Autism and selective mutism could also keep the child from learning a language


              If your child is experiencing language delay, there’s a good chance they’ll be tested for a majority of these, if not all of them. It’s important the healthcare professionals understand all the causes, that way they can properly treat the language delay and get the child back on track. For many BH4 or Tetrahydrobiopterin will play an important role - when this is low, often language is affected. And it’s worth noting that supplementing with methylfolate can increase BH4 levels in the body, but for some, this might not be enough, they might need additional BH4 supplementation. This is a tricky one right now because there is only one pharmaceutical that contains this nutrient and it’s a very high dose for a very particular diagnosis - so those who just need a small amount to augment the language center of the brain have a challenge getting this ingredient at a level that’s therapeutic for them.

              How Can We Reduce the Risk of Folate Deficiency in Children?

              There are multiple ways to reduce the risk of folate deficiency in children. The most important will be making sure the mother is properly supplementing with the right form of folate, L-Methylfolate. This will ensure the child’s development is off to a good start.


              The other important way to reduce folate deficiency in children is to ensure the child eats a healthy diet. While breastfeeding, methylfolate supplementation by the mother can enhance the baby’s diet and therefore development. Eating a folate-rich diet as the child grows up can also help.


              At Methyl-Life™, we provide a wide range of supplements for those suffering from a folate deficiency, folic acid deficiency, MTHFR mutation, or are simply preparing to have a child.


              Our most famous ingredient is our L-Methylfolate -- the active form of Vitamin B9 which also happens to be the purest form you can by, 3x purer in fact (we recently had a study help us compare our methylfolate against all the industry leaders in the marketplace, including the pharmaceutical) -- but we also take advantage of the rare but most well-tolerated active form of B12, hydroxocobalamin -- which is an important synergistic nutrient which works with methylfolate to optimize health -- and Magnesium, another key methylfolate co-factor. You can find all three of them in our Beginner’s Bundle, along with a non-methylated multivitamin which contains a host of methylation-supporting nutrients apart from the two main nutrients Vitamin B9 & B12, so those can be dosed at more therapeutic levels. Of course, you can also purchase each of these products individually as well.


              For the pregnant mothers out there, we have a Pregnancy Bundle that contains L-Methylfolate, hydroxocobalamin, and a methylated multivitamin.


              If you were looking for a methylfolate-only supplement without any of the other ingredients, we offer them in a variety of dosages including 2.5mg, 5mg, 10mg, and 15mg. Ask your healthcare professional which dosage is right for you and your baby to ensure you both receive the nutrients you need. It’s worth noting that pharmaceuticals include 5-6 mg L-Methylfolate dosages for dementia and Alzheimer’s, 7.5-15 mg dosages for depression (aimed at raising serotonin and other neurotransmitter levels).


              Methyl-Life™ has been a leader in MTHFR and methylfolate awareness since 2011 (long before most people even knew what either one was). We stay dedicated to helping others find relief when these genetic mutations and vitamin deficiencies start to deplete one’s quality of life or move them into states of disease. We’ve felt the effects ourselves and it’s a large reason why we continue to innovate our products.


              Feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the MTHFR gene, the body’s methylation process, and methylfolate supplementation. We’d be happy to assist you and can’t wait to help you and your child live a full and happy life.


              Also Read: FOR SCHOOL-YEAR LEVEL ENERGY, DON’T LOOK IN THE DRINK COOLER

              References

              1. Roth, Christine, et al. “Folic Acid Supplements in Pregnancy and Severe Language Delay in Children.” JAMA, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 12 Oct. 2011

                www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3780384/

              2. “Office of Dietary Supplements - Folate.” NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

                ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/

              Katie Stone - Naturopath

              About the Author

              Katie is a qualified Naturopath (BNatMed) and freelance writer from New Zealand. She specializes in all things health and wellness, particularly dietary supplements and nutrition. Katie is also a dedicated runner and has completed more half-marathons than she can count!

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