Micronutrients
What's New About Choline
Choline is an essential micronutrient that many people consume in insufficient amounts. New research reveals its critical role in brain health, immune function, and vascular protection.
Micronutrients
Choline is an essential micronutrient that many people consume in insufficient amounts. New research reveals its critical role in brain health, immune function, and vascular protection.
Line items
Choline is an edubily favorite.
There are two straightforward reasons: First, it's an enormously important micronutrient. Second, many people consume too little of it.
Choline is an important component of our cell membranes. There, it forms part of the 'hydrophilic' head of phospholipids, determining how well our cell membranes function.
Logically, the same applies to the membranes of our 'power plants' in the cells—the mitochondria. Choline plays a crucial role there as well.
In short: For our membranes to function properly—this is where nutrient exchange occurs!—we need choline. Remember this: Choline, also known as phosphatidylcholine, is an essential component of all our membranes.
For this reason, choline became prominent especially in veterinary medicine: Choline deficiency causes fatty liver disease. For fats to leave the liver at all, they need a coating of phospholipids. Without choline, few phospholipids, minimal fat transport.
Experiments have shown that choline generally regulates fat metabolism. For example, it stimulates fat oxidation in the mitochondria. That's why choline is considered a lipotropic nutrient.
When tissues lack choline, the deficiency can lead to 'tissue dysfunction' [source no longer available]. Especially in muscle. That's why in 2020, the journal Nutrients published a widely-cited paper stating that choline is 'an essential nutrient for muscle' [source no longer available].
Moreover, choline is a component of the body's most important neurotransmitter: acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is needed, for example, for nerves to communicate with our muscles. In the brain, acetylcholine is important for neural development and memory.
As we've often mentioned in our work, we can assume that people in Western nations consume too little of it. Choline is found mainly in high-quality animal products. The best sources are eggs, meat, especially liver.
Those eating 'plant-based' with few animal products have only sunflower or soy lecithin as a meaningful source.
Traditional foods (eggs, liver, and so on) are increasingly being replaced by choline-poor plant products, which generally reduces choline intake.
In the journal British Journal of Nutrition, a 2015 study examined choline intake in European populations. The result: 'In most of the examined populations, average choline intake fell below adequate intake (AI).'
This standard was set by the EFSA—the European Food Safety Authority—at 400 mg/day for adults, with pregnant women needing more: 480 mg/day.
Martin Smollich's research group at the University of Lübeck investigated this and published a paper in 2022 confirming these findings: Half of all women consumed only about half the recommended choline intake (260 mg), and only 7% were adequately supplied.
Here too, it was shown that omnivorous women consumed 'significantly more choline than vegetarian or vegan women'—roughly 70 mg more per day.
Choline is of high importance for fetal neural development. The inadequate choline supply, also a concern in Switzerland, is therefore careless. It's sadly another example of the widespread misconception that nutrient intake is sufficient.
In 2022 alone, scientists described new roles for acetylcholine in the body. They showed that B cells—antibody-producing immune cells—produce acetylcholine in the bone marrow, which reduces the production of immune cells and consequently protects against inflammation in the heart and blood vessels. [source no longer available]
So acetylcholine here is used by certain immune cells—B cells—to regulate the production of leukocytes—all immune cells—to minimize harmful inflammatory responses. Acetylcholine thus acts anti-inflammatorily.
But that's not all. Already in 2019, scientists showed that T cells, the natural partner of B cells, both components of 'specific immunity,' also produce acetylcholine.
They produce it, however, to fight viruses. Researchers showed that acetylcholine production increases massively during viral infections. This alone makes possible the 'widening' of arteries and the 'migration' of T cells into infected tissues. [source no longer available]
For many years, it's been known that acetylcholine widens arteries. That's why vascular function can be examined in experiments using acetylcholine infusions.
Healthy blood vessels respond to acetylcholine infusion with—widening. Diseased vessels can't do this well anymore. Acetylcholine induces increased production of nitric oxide (NO for short)—the vascular gas—in healthy vessels.
NO again. Often life-deciding. Can immune cells, through acetylcholine production and thus NO, also protect the vessels?
In a recent study, scientists examined how the capacity to produce acetylcholine in T cells affected survival in critically ill long-term patients. Indeed, the ability to produce acetylcholine in T cells correlated strongly with survival.
That is, patients who produced more acetylcholine in T cells were more likely to survive. Why? Because blood flow in critically ill intensive care patients is often critical. Think sepsis and inadequate organ perfusion.
The researchers conclude that T cells producing acetylcholine have a protective effect on vessels by releasing more NO. This in turn improves blood flow and oxygen transport.
Additionally, NO inhibits inflammation, providing an extra protective factor.
Many people in Switzerland don't realize that 'vitamins' are life insurance. A multivitamin capsule is long-term protection. The same goes for many other micronutrients, including choline.
You have to eat choline. A large egg provides 150 mg of this precious substance. For those of us with normal diets, eggs are the best source. Fortunately, today you can use many substitute products.
For example, soy or sunflower lecithin. For example, our own Pure CDP-Choline, which shows outstanding bioavailability.
Choline—as shown here—is important not only for unborn or young life. For healthy adults, choline is essential, and in old age or emergency situations, choline can literally be a matter of life and death.
You should know that, right?
