Choline is an essential nutrient that your body needs in order to function optimally. It has been linked to various health benefits, including protecting memory and loss of brain function, supporting the central nervous system, maintaining healthy liver function, and much more. Let’s learn about how much choline you need, where you can find it, and why it’s so important to maintain health.
Choline is an essential nutrient for humans and many other animals. It occurs as a cation that forms various salts. It is an organic, water-soluble compound that is neither a vitamin nor a mineral.
Although it can be made in small amounts by humans, it must be ingested in larger amounts through diet or supplementation. To maintain health, it must be obtained from the diet as choline or as choline phospholipids, like phosphatidylcholine.
Although our bodies cannot make enough choline on their own, it is essential for many bodily functions. Choline is needed for:
Considering its many diverse roles, being deficient in choline can cause muscle damage, liver damage, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It can also lead to issues in your kidneys, pancreas, brain and nervous system. Some reported symptoms include being constantly tired or fatigued, reduced ability to think clearly, emotional swings, memory loss, impaired cognition, muscle aches and nerve tingling or pain. Those who have Crohn’s disease or severe gallbladder issues typically experience a choline deficiency as a result of malabsorption. If you suspect you have a choline deficiency, consult with your integrative medicine healthcare provider or request to become a patient.
Choline is abundant in many foods, especially eggs, asparagus, beef, soybeans, spinach, broccoli and peanut butter. Other choline rich foods include cod, liver, cruciferous and green leafy vegetables. Chia seeds and flaxseeds are also great sources of choline, as well as several other B vitamins, including B12. If you eat a well-balanced diet with organic proteins, fruits and veggies, your body may still not get enough choline. The key is to eat a wide variety of whole foods.
Choline deficiency is not very common since it is found in many foods. The OPTIMAL recommended daily dose of choline for adults is 500 mg/day. As you can see from the chart above, many foods contain choline- making a proper, well balanced diet the best choline supplement. If you don’t get enough of it from food sources, taking a choline supplement could be beneficial.
Choline is an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in many processes in your body. If you suffer from a choline deficiency, there are easy steps you can take to correct it and begin reaping some of its other benefits, including improved liver function, healthier pregnancy outcomes and reduced memory loss as you age. Start with your diet—it’s not just what you eat, but the foods that contain it.
As always, we are here to help you obtain your optimal health. If you want to optimize your health, you can come on board as a patient and we can personalize a plan for you.
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