Choline 101: The Overlooked Nutrient Most Women Are Missing

When you think about nutrients and women’s health supplements that are especially important for women, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t choline.

While choline may not be making a splash in the headlines, it should be. It’s a critical micronutrient that’s involved in almost every part of our body, from brain health to liver support to cell membranes and nervous system function. Of particular note is it’s important yet often overlooked role in pregnancy where it helps with proper fetal growth and brain development.

So why does choline receive so little attention? And how can we as women make sure we are getting enough? Let’s take a closer look.

What is Choline and Why Is It Classified as an Essential Nutrient?

Choline is a nutrient that was officially recognized as essential back in 1998. Over the years, evidence has grown that choline deficiency can lead to liver damage, mood and memory issues, and stunt proper brain and neural tube development in a growing fetus.¹

Although our liver can make a small amount of choline on its own, it’s not enough to produce what the body needs. That means the rest needs to come from what we eat or things like a daily multivitamin.

Here’s what choline does:^1,2

• Helps build essential phospholipids that strengthen our cell membranes
• Produces acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter that’s involved with memory, mood and muscle control
• Helps shuttle fat out of the liver for optimal liver health
• Supports brain and nervous system development at key points during pregnancy and in growing infants

Here are a couple other key facts about choline to note:²

• Food Sources: Some of the best food sources of choline include eggs, beef, liver, chicken, broccoli and dairy products. Many of these higher sources are animal-based, which means women who eat few or no animal products may need to pay closer attention to their intake.
• Intake Needs: The Adequate Intake (AI) for choline is set at 425 mg per day for adult women. This increases to 450 mg per day for pregnant women and further increases to 550 mg per day during breastfeeding.

And, the really interesting thing is that up until recently, choline was not routinely included in basic women’s prenatal vitamins. While folate still gets most of the attention, choline is arguably just as important for preventing neural tube defects and plays a whole host of other important roles during this formative time period.³

Why Women Are at Greater Risk of Choline Deficiency Than Men

While the risk for choline deficiency is high amongst all groups, women do face a larger challenge at various points in life when it comes to this essential nutrient.

The first is pregnancy. As discussed, choline needs increase during both pregnancy and breastfeeding. Here’s why:³

• Pregnancy: Choline needs increase here because the developing fetus requires choline for proper growth. First, choline is involved in the early weeks for neural tube development. This is why having choline included in a women’s multivitamin is so important. Additionally, choline supports proper brain development, especially when it comes to memory function, at later weeks in pregnancy.
• Breastfeeding: As an infant continue to grow rapidly after birth, choline is needed as the brain grows, muscles develop, and the liver starts to function. For breastfeeding women, choline helps with mood, mental clarity, and healthy liver processing.

The second is menopause, a time of hormonal upheaval. This is because as estrogen declines, so does choline production.

Remember the liver can make some of its own choline? Well, this process is stimulated by estrogen. As estrogen declines during menopause, we lose this protective effect and are more susceptible to choline deficiency.⁴

This explains why choline is so important for women during many stages of life, especially pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause.

Adding a well-rounded women’s multivitamin, such as Body Kitchens’ Women’s Multi with VitaCholine, can be a great move when it comes to optimal health.

The Health Consequences of Not Getting Enough Choline

With choline being so needed in many parts of the body, deficiencies of this important nutrient can be quite serious.

Liver health: One of choline’s best known roles is for transporting fat out of the liver. When choline levels are low, fat can start to accumulate in the liver and lead to fatty liver disease over time.¹

Brain and nervous system function: Choline is needed to produce acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory function, mood and muscle control.⁴

Pregnancy and fetal development: Choline contributes to cell division in the rapidly growing fetus which is particularly important for helping prevent neural tube defects. It also helps baby’s brain growth and memory formation.³

The takeaway here is that clearly getting enough choline matters, and there can be serious health consequences when deficient. Choline is essential to multiple systems in the body that are critical for women’s health. Keep this in mind when it comes to your diet choices and when choosing prenatal vitamins and the best multivitamin tailored to your health needs.

How a Women’s Multivitamin with VitaCholine Can Close the Gap

Ideally, look to get your choline needs met by food first. Vegans, vegetarians, and those with particular food allergies may need to pay special attention.

If your diet just isn’t there yet with a wide variety of whole foods, or you are excluding many of these choline-rich foods for certain reasons, then a good quality women’s multivitamin might be right for you.

Body Kitchen’s Women’s Multi is an example of one of the best multivitamins that recognizes choline as a part of women’s everyday nutrition needs. It contains 22 essential vitamins and minerals and specifically includes a patented form of choline called VitaCholine to target the unique needs of women. This formula is designed to fill dietary gaps while supporting energy, metabolism, immune health and cognitive function.

Always discuss proper supplementation with your trusted healthcare practitioner first, but whatever stage of life you are in, consider if adding choline as part of a well-rounded women’s multivitamin might be a smart choice for you.

Final Thoughts

Choline may not get as much attention as other nutrients, but it plays an essential role in women’s health. Given its array of health benefits, it should be routinely included in women’s multivitamins. From liver function to brain health and reproduction, choline does a little bit of everything.

Choline-rich foods should come first, but consider a adding a supplement like Body Kitchen’s Women’s Multi if you need that assurance your nutrient needs are being met by your daily multivitamin, especially when it comes to choline. Because at whatever age or life stage you are, a boost of choline is a boost to your health.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is choline and why is it considered an essential nutrient?

Choline is a water-soluble nutrient that is essential for several core functions in the body, including cell membrane structure, fat metabolism in the liver, neurotransmitter production, and DNA synthesis. Although the body produces a small amount of choline on its own, it cannot produce enough to meet daily needs, making dietary intake or supplementation necessary. Despite its importance, choline remains one of the most under-consumed nutrients among women, with most adults in the United States falling short of recommended intake levels.

Why are women especially likely to be deficient in choline?

Women of reproductive age and postmenopausal women face a higher risk of choline insufficiency due to hormonal factors that influence how efficiently the body produces and uses choline. Estrogen plays a role in choline synthesis, which means that as estrogen levels decline during perimenopause and menopause, the body's ability to generate adequate choline internally decreases. Pregnant and breastfeeding women have elevated choline needs for fetal brain development, making deficiency even more common and consequential during those life stages.

What are the signs of choline deficiency and how does it affect health?

Choline deficiency can affect multiple systems in the body. Common signs include difficulty with memory and mental clarity, fatigue, and muscle discomfort. More significant deficiency has been linked to impaired liver function, since choline is essential for transporting fat out of the liver. Long-term insufficiency may also affect cardiovascular health through elevated homocysteine levels and impact fetal brain development when deficiency occurs during pregnancy. Many of these effects can be subtle and are often attributed to other causes.

What is VitaCholine and why is it included in a women's multivitamin?

VitaCholine is a branded, highly bioavailable form of choline designed to deliver the nutrient in a form the body can absorb and use efficiently. Including it in a women's multivitamin ensures that choline is addressed alongside other commonly deficient nutrients rather than requiring a separate supplement. For women who do not regularly consume choline-rich foods such as eggs and liver, a multivitamin containing VitaCholine offers a convenient and reliable way to meet daily needs and support brain, liver, and cellular health.

Can getting enough choline make a noticeable difference in how a woman feels day to day?

For women who are deficient, increasing choline intake can produce meaningful improvements in mental sharpness, focus, and energy levels, since choline is a precursor to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter central to memory and cognitive function. Better liver function and improved fat metabolism may also support overall energy and reduce feelings of sluggishness. While choline is not a stimulant, addressing a nutritional gap that affects core physiological functions often translates into a noticeable improvement in daily wellbeing over time.