Best Sources of Choline

Although choline is thought to be an important nutrient that is crucial for overall health, including brain and liver health as well as muscular control, creating and repairing cell membranes, and modulating pain response, gene expression, and lipid metabolism, its importance is often overlooked. In fact, an estimated 90 percent of Americans seemingly do not meet the daily recommended intake of this key nutrient, which may increase their risk of health problems such as heart disease, neurological conditions, and liver damage.

The best way to address this issue is thought to be by incorporating more choline-rich foods into one’s diet, which can include organ meats, seafood, eggs, and dairy products, as well as a variety of plant-based foods. If diet alone is not meeting these needs, however, choline supplementation may help to fill in the gaps and ensure that you are meeting your body’s needs for this crucial nutrient.

What Is Choline?

Choline is considered an organic, water-soluble essential nutrient that shares many functional similarities with B vitamins. In fact, it has been referred to as vitamin B4,¹ but is no longer classified as such since it is neither a mineral nor a vitamin but rather is assessed as a compound and nutrient that may be needed for human health. Interestingly, choline is one of the nutrients whose importance was discovered more recently, having been officially classified as essential in 1998.²

Human bodies may produce a small amount of choline in the liver but may not produce enough choline to sustain necessary bodily functions, so most choline is thought to come from dietary intake or supplementation.³

Why Is Choline Important?

Choline is considered by many to be necessary for plenty of metabolic functions as well as for neurological and cognitive health, liver health, and muscular control.⁴ In addition, choline may be needed to create and repair the membranes that surround each and every one of our cells (as well as all cells in plants and animals).⁵ Other functions that may involve choline include modulating pain response, expression of genes, and lipid transport/metabolism.

Getting plenty of choline may be particularly important during pregnancy. One of the most important benefits of choline is that it may promote normal, healthy development of the fetal brain. A lack of choline can often lead to high homocysteine levels, which may increase the risk of premature birth, preeclampsia, and low birth weight.⁶ Insufficient choline may also raise the risk of spinal cord problems such as spina bifida as well as other birth defects.⁷

Choline Deficiency Symptoms

Since choline may be such an important nutrient, involved in crucial bodily functions, a choline deficiency may cause a variety of serious symptoms. These symptoms may include muscle aches, tingling due to nerve damage, cognitive issues such as memory loss, mood changes, fatigue, and liver damage⁸ (such as fatty liver disease).⁹ Lack of choline may also increase one’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,¹⁰ muscle damage, and birth defects such as neural tube irregularities.¹¹

Foods High in Choline

Animal-Based Sources of Choline: Organ Meats, Seafood, Eggs, and More

Many of the best sources of choline may be found in meats, particularly organ meats such as kidneys and liver. For example, three ounces of beef liver are thought to contain 359 mg of choline,¹² which can often provide more than half of one’s daily needs for this nutrient. Similarly, three ounces of beef kidneys may provide 436 mg of choline, which is roughly 80 percent of the recommended daily intake.¹³

Another excellent source of choline is thought to be seafood; three ounces of salmon may contain 187 mg of this nutrient, while three ounces of caviar can provide 285 mg.¹⁴ Eggs are another one of the most choline-rich foods, which may provide 169 mg of the nutrient in just one egg.¹⁵ Other foods that are thought to be high in choline include dairy products like milk, cottage cheese, and yogurt.

Plant-Based Sources of Choline

While meat and dairy products are thought of as some of the best sources of choline, there may be plenty of plant-based foods that are high in choline, which can be particularly important for those who are vegetarian or vegan. These plant based sources may include shiitake mushrooms (with 116 mg per cup of cooked mushrooms), soybeans (with 214 mg per cup), wheat germ (with 153 mg per three ounces), cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower (with 72 mg per cup), lima beans (with 75 mg per cup), red potatoes (with 57 mg per large potato), kidney beans (with 54 mg per cup), and quinoa (with 43 mg per cup).¹⁶

Daily Choline Requirements

Adult men are thought to need 550 mg of choline per day, while adult women should aim for at least 425 mg of this nutrient. During pregnancy, the need for choline may increase to 450 mg per day, and while breastfeeding, the daily requirement may increase even further to 550 mg.¹⁷ In the United States, an estimated 90 percent of the total population does not commonly meet the daily requirements for choline. Even more alarmingly, 90 to 95 percent of pregnant women may be consuming less than the adequate intake for this nutrient, which is likely, since choline may not typically be incorporated into prenatal supplements.¹⁸

Choline Supplementation

Choline supplementation may be necessary for those who are unable to get enough of the nutrient through high-choline foods, especially those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Other individuals who are at high risk of choline deficiency may include those who adhere to vegetarian or vegan diets, those suffering from alcohol abuse disorder, those who receive their food intravenously rather than by mouth (also known as total parenteral nutrition), and those who have genes affecting their ability to metabolize choline, folate, and methionine.¹⁹

Some choline supplements may only contain choline; others can include choline as part of a combination of B-complex vitamins, since B vitamins can have similar functions in the human body. Depending on the supplement, they may typically contain as little as 10 mg or as much as 250 mg of choline.²⁰ There are also numerous forms of choline that may be found in supplements: citicoline (a naturally occurring form of the nutrient that is often used specifically to support brain health and cognitive function), choline bitartrate (which can combine choline with tartaric acid salt to improve its absorption in the body), phosphatidylcholine, lecithin, and more. Unfortunately, there are no studies comparing the relative bioavailability of these different forms of choline, so it is difficult to say which form may be most easily absorbed by the body.²¹

Ask a Doctor Before Supplementing with Choline

Overall, choline supplements are widely considered to be safe for most people. However, certain groups may be better to avoid choline supplementation or should be especially careful in making the decision to supplement with this compound. For example, those suffering from bipolar disorder or depression should not take choline supplements unless absolutely necessary, since choline supplementation may contribute to depression.²²

In addition, keep in mind that when taken at the standard recommended dose, choline’s most common side effects are thought to be digestive, including diarrhea, stomach upset, and nausea. These side effects may be much more severe at higher doses, with 20+ grams of choline possibly causing issues such as depression, dizziness, low blood pressure, and problems with heart rhythm.²³

Thankfully, choline has not been shown to interact with any medications or foods, so this may reduce the risk of supplementing with this nutrient.²⁴ Nevertheless, before adding choline supplementation to your routine, it is important to speak to a doctor who is familiar with your medical situation to determine whether or not it makes sense for you to begin taking this compound.