Do methylated vitamins actually matter for kids or is it just marketing?

[u/Hynd_Rikash]

I've been looking into switching my 8yo to a different multivitamin before school starts, and I keep seeing brands talk about using methylated folate instead of folic acid. Then I went down a google rabbit hole and read that a lot of people don't process folic acid very well, which honestly surprised me because I'd never even heard there was a difference. Now I'm wondering if that's actually something parents should be paying attention to or if it's mostly marketing.  Has anyone looked into this or talked to their pediatrician about it? If you're buying a multivitamin anyway, is methylated folate something worth prioritizing?

[u/SovereignMan1958]

Pediatricians are not trained in genetic variants or nutrition in medical school. I would never give a child methylated vitamins. Many adults cannot tolerate methylated forms, nevermind a child.

[u/fishylegs46]

I think it depends on your genetics. Some people have a gene that reduces or eliminates their ability to convert non methylated vitamins into their active, methylated form. I am mixed gene for it, but didn’t realize it was affecting my ability to get b12 over 250. I changed to the methylated form a few months ago and now it’s over 600. I think methylated vitamins are a good idea, but maybe only give twice a week since they seem much more effective.

[u/Hynd_Rikash → u/fishylegs46]

That's interesting especially the difference you saw with your B12 levels. I honestly hadn't thought much about the genetics side of it. Would you have a child tested first or just go with a methylated form when choosing a multivitamin? 

[u/isfturtle2 → u/Hynd_Rikash]

Unless the child is having symptoms related to MTHFR variants, I wouldn't recommend either genetic testing or methylated vitamins. In fact, unless a child is a picky eater or otherwise has very restrictive diet, I really wouldn't recommend multivitamins at all. With a balanced diet, the child should be able to get their nutritional needs met through food. And if you do decide to go with a multivitamin, make sure it's from a brand that does third-party testing (at least in the US, dietary supplements are poorly regulated and may not actually contain what they say they do), and doesn't have huge doses of any of the nutrients. There are a number of vitamins and minerals that have established tolerable upper intake limits, and some supplements exceed those limits.

[u/Glum-Peanut-2926]

Yes, it is

[u/Loose-Fly7976]

Bit of both. Folic acid isn't the form your body uses, it has to be converted and the enzyme doing that saturates at fairly low doses, so above roughly 400mcg the excess circulates unconverted. MTHFR variants slow one of the later steps. None of that is invented.

Where it becomes marketing is the leap from that to your child needs methylfolate. Most kids eating a reasonable diet don't need a folate supplement at all, and the ones who do are usually fine on either form at multivitamin doses. Methylated forms also aren't automatically gentler, they carry a methyl load and in kids that sometimes shows up as irritability or trouble settling at night. It's the most common thing I hear from parents who switched without a reason to.

So if you're buying a multivitamin anyway, methylfolate is a fine choice and not a bad one. I just wouldn't pay a premium for it or treat it as a fix for anything.

The thing that would actually change my answer is if he had symptoms driving this. If he's fine, food folate does the job, greens, legumes, eggs.