Jessica Bradley
BBC future
This compound has been linked to improving cognitive abilities and reducing anxiety, but are you getting enough of it?
You may not have heard of choline before, but research shows that this substance is crucial for our health, at different stages of life.
Choline is neither a vitamin nor a mineral, it is an organic compound that is necessary for the normal functioning of the human nervous system.
Recently, evidence has emerged that increased choline intake can have a wide range of powerful effects – from improving cognitive abilities do protection against neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia.
This nutrient also plays an important role in human neurological development.
One study showed that babies whose mothers took choline supplements during pregnancy process information faster, which is considered an indicator of healthy cognitive functioning.
Scientists point out that choline is a miracle nutrient that unjustly neglected.
So, where does choline come from and are you getting enough of it?
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Key nutrient
Every cell in our body contains choline, says Professor Xinjin Jiang, a nutrition expert at Brooklyn College in New York, United States (USA).
Choline is a vital nutrient, meaning it is essential for health, but our body does not produce it in the necessary amounts.
That's why we need to consume a certain amount of choline through our diet.
In this sense, choline is similar to omega-3 fatty acids, although its function is closer to B-complex vitamins, explains Emma Derbyshire, a scientist and founder and director of the consulting firm Nutritional Insight.
Choline is found mostly in animal foods, such as beef, eggs, fish, chicken, and milk, but it is also found in peanuts, red beans, mushrooms, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli.
However, animal foods usually contain more choline than plant foods.
Choline is essential for numerous functions in the body, among which i proper functioning of the liver.
Choline deficiency can cause various health problems.
"Choline helps transport fat out of the liver, and when there's not enough of it, fatty liver can develop," Jiang explains.
Choline also enables the synthesis of phospholipids, the main components of cell membranes in our body.
Lack This nutrient can affect the expression of genes involved in the process of cell reproduction.
During fetal development, choline deficiency can be particularly harmful, as it interferes with cell proliferation in the brain.
The role of choline in the brain is extremely important; in fact, choline is primarily a "brain nutrient," emphasizes Derbyshire.
Choline is needed by the body to produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which transmits signals from the brain to the body via nerve cells.
Acetylcholine plays a key role in brain nerve cells that are essential for memory, thinking and learning.
In one study involving nearly 1.400 participants aged 36 to 83, researchers found that those who consumed more choline had better memory, and that choline intake in midlife may have a protective effect on the brain.
Choline is also often an ingredient in brain supplements or smart drugs, which are believed to have to improve learning and memory.
On the other hand, choline deficiency is also associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
Another way that choline can affect the brain is through mental health.
One study showed that higher choline intake was associated with lower levels of anxiety.
Another study found that higher dietary choline intake was associated with sreduced risk of depression.
Sufficient choline intake can also bring a number of other health benefits.
Studies in mice have shown that choline can lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that, when present in elevated concentrations, increases the risk of heart disease.
High levels of homocysteine may also be linked to osteoporosis, and research has shown that people who consume more choline in their diet have higher bone density, which is an indicator of the strong and healthy bones they have. lower risk of fracture.
"Choline could potentially help combat bone loss," says Janike Ejen, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research who has studied the link. between choline and bone health.
She states that this is partly due to choline's effect on homocysteine levels, but also because choline is a key component of cell membranes.
The first 1000 days
It is well known that the first two years of life are critical for a child's development and that a mother's diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding has a huge impact on this process.
Studies show that choline essential for the development of a baby in the womb.
In fact, babies are born with three times more choline in the body than their mothers have, which, according to Derbyshire, clearly shows how important this nutrient is during that period of life.
Several studies have shown that choline levels in the body during pregnancy affect the child's later cognitive development, and it can benefit the child for years during growth and development.
In one study, pregnant women who consumed the most choline during the second trimester (weeks 13 to 28 of pregnancy) gave birth to children who performed better on short-term and long-term memory tests at age seven.
Some research even suggests that insufficient choline intake during pregnancy may be linked to ADHD symptoms in children.
Are we getting enough choline?
In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has set the recommended daily intake of choline: 400 milligrams for adults, 480 milligrams for pregnant women and 520 milligrams for breastfeeding women.
In the US, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) first established a recommended intake of choline back in 1998: 550 milligrams per day for men and 425 milligrams for women, 450 milligrams during pregnancy and 550 milligrams during breastfeeding.
An egg contains about 150 milligrams solution, chicken white meat about 72 milligrams, and a handful of peanuts about 24 milligrams.
In 2017, the American Medical Association (AMA) recommended that prenatal vitamins should contain “scientifically based” amounts of choline.
"Today, we are seeing ADHD and dyslexia more and more often in schools."
"It's partly genetic, but it's also possible that babies aren't getting key nutrients in the womb," says Derbyshire.
"These very subtle neurodevelopmental disorders occur and affect children later in life."
“And then we just treat the consequences,” says Derbyshire.
Professor Jiang studied the link between choline intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding and brain development.
"Animal studies show that when the mother consumes more choline, the cognitive development of the offspring is better," she says.
"Now we're starting to get similar results in human studies, although they're not exactly identical."
Nutrition for the brain
A 2020 study, which included 38 animal studies and 16 human studies, concluded that adding choline to the diet contributes to brain development.
However, the strong connection between choline and improved cognitive function has so far only been reliably proven in animal studies.
The paper does not specify the ideal amount of supplements, but it states that most human studies use supplements containing up to 930 milligrams of choline per day, which is approximately the amount of choline contained in six chicken eggs, with no reported negative effects.
There may also be groups of people who need a higher choline intake than recommended, for example women in postmenopausal women, who have lower estrogen levels, as well as people who have fatty liver, says Ejen.
Derbyshire adds that due to genetic differences, some people naturally have higher choline needs.
When we eat foods rich in choline, it is very easily absorbed into the bloodstream, which is a good sign that we can get sufficient amounts through our diet, says Jiang.
However, numerous studies show that most people do not consume enough choline.
One study showed that only 11 percent of American adults consume the recommended daily amount of choline.
Eggs are one of the richest dietary sources of choline, so there is concern that people who choose a vegan diet may not be getting enough of this nutrient, although there are many plant sources and choline supplements are readily available in developed countries.
One study found that people who regularly eat eggs consume almost twice as much choline as those who don't, leading the study authors to conclude that "extremely difficult" achieve the recommended daily intake of choline without consuming eggs or supplements.
However, with careful meal planning, most people can meet the 400 milligrams of choline per day recommended by the EFSA, Jiang says.
Some vegan sources of choline are tofu (28 milligrams per 100 grams), peanut butter (61 to 66 milligrams per 100 grams) and soy (120 milligrams per 100 grams).
Anyone who is concerned about not getting enough choline can take supplements daily, says Ejen.
He adds that in the meantime, more research is needed on animals and humans to better understand the background to choline's positive health effects.
However, “clinicians are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of choline,” says Derbyshire.
Although this nutrient has often been overlooked until now, she hopes it will soon receive the attention it deserves.
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