Best Choline Supplement
What Is The Best Choline Supplement?
Recommended Choline Supplements
We recommend this choline bitartrate supplement:
- Choline Bitartrate – Click here to view.
What Is Choline & Why Does It Matter?
Choline is a vitamin-like essential nutrient that is necessary for the healthy function of various aspects of the human body. It has a wide range of effects, including: promoting a healthy metabolism and high energy levels, influencing muscular nerves and movement, improving liver function, influencing healthy brain development and function in both children and adults, and effecting nerve functions throughout the body.
Choline is often found within the structure of dietary fats, and thus is usually consumed simply by accident when you eat a normal diet consisting of healthy foods. Choline plays an important role throughout your body every day, and can lead to serious side effects if not managed properly.
Choline is water soluble like many other vitamins, and is considered by scientists to be similar in function to the various B vitamins. Choline itself is not considered a vitamin by scientific definition, but it basically a vitamin in function.
One of Choline’s most important functions is in a process called methylation, in which cells create and modify new and existing strands of DNA. Choline is also very important for the function of the nervous system and for the detoxification of the liver.
Choline & Nootropics – Boost Your Brain?
Most people don’t use choline supplements by themselves, since you generally receive adequate daily choline intake from an ordinary diet. However, choline is a popular supplement to combine with a class of other supplements called nootropics.
Nootropics are supplements that are intended to boost your mental concentration and brain power. Some are natural substances, whilst others are synthetic and created in laboratories from scratch. Most have not been evaluated by the FDA, but many people still swear by their ability to help you concentrate on mentally demanding tasks.
Choline is often prescribed along with other nootropic supplements because of the role that it plays in assisting the healthy function of the brain.
Who Needs Choline?
Everyone needs choline in their diet every day, but most people usually get enough of it from eating normal foods. You should only consider taking a choline supplement if you suspect that you have a choline deficiency, or if you are on a special diet that avoids foods that normally contain choline.
Since choline is found in many fat-rich foods, if you are on a very low fat diet, you may want to consider taking a choline supplement.
Women who are pregnant or nursing may also want to take a multivitamin that contains choline, since they need more of many vitamins and minerals in order to properly nourish their child.
See the recommendations for daily choline intake below.
Recommended Choline Intake Levels
These are the recommended choline intake levels according to the US National Academy of Medicine, which publishes nutrition guidelines.
Demographic | Recommended Minimum | Recommended Maximum |
|---|---|---|
Boys & Girls 0-6 months | At least 125 mg/day | N/A |
Boys & Girls 7-12 months | At least 150 mg/day | N/A |
Boys & Girls 1-3 years | At least 200 mg/day | No more than 1000 mg/day |
Boys & Girls 4-8 years | At least 250 mg/day | No more than 1000 mg/day |
Boys & Girls 9-10 years | At least 375 mg/day | No more than 1000 mg/day |
Boys & Girls 11-13 years | At least 375 mg/day | No more than 2000 mg/day |
Boys 14-18 years | At least 550 mg/day | No more than 3000 mg/day |
Boys 19+ years | At least 550 mg/day | No more than 3500 mg/day |
Girls 14-18 years | At least 400 mg/day | No more than 3000 mg/day |
Girls 19+ years | At least 425 mg/day | No more than 3500 mg/day |
Pregnant girls under 18 | At least 450 mg/day | No more than 3000 mg/day |
Pregnant women over 18 | At least 450 mg/day | No more than 3500 mg/day |
Lactating girls under 18 | At least 550 mg/day | No more than 3000 mg/day |
Lactating women over 18 | At least 550 mg/day | No more than 3500 mg/day |
Do note that the only reason there is not a recommended maximum intake for Boys & Girls aged 0-12 months is simply because of a lack of definitive scientific experiments involving choline intake in very young infants.
Since most scientists don’t experiment with toddlers, the US National Academy of Medicine has not published recommended maximums for that age group. But since the recommended maximum for children aged 1+ years is 1000mg/day, we can assume that infants aged 0-12 months should probably not consume more than that amount.
Symptoms Of Choline Deficiency
Lack of choline in your body can lead to metabolic slowdown and fatigue. This is because choline is used in your body’s metabolism.
Also being used in your brain synapses and neurons, choline deficiency can lead to poor cognitive functioning and can contribute to memory loss, as well as learning disabilities and nerve damage.
Being an important element of the brain, choline deficiency can also cause mood changes and even possibly mood disorders.
People who suffer from fatty liver disease also often have a choline deficiency. While fatty liver disease can be caused by other issues, such as over consumption of alcohol, its effects are exacerbated by low choline concentration in the body.
Symptoms Of Choline Overdose
Choline toxicity, caused by overdosing on choline, is very uncommon unless you accidentally take too much of a choline supplement. Nevertheless, it can happen, so you should know what to watch out for.
Choline overdose can cause vomiting, excessive salivation, and increased sweating. It can even cause bad body odor similar to a fishy smell due to the excretion of excess trimethylamine, which is manufactured in part by choline within the body.
Conclusion & Summary
Choline is an important nutrient for your body, but most people don’t need to take a choline supplement because they already get the recommended minimum amount from a standard diet. You should only consider taking a choline supplement if you are on a special diet that may be restricting ordinary choline intake, or if you are exhibiting symptoms of choline deficiency.
You may also want to take choline supplements to boost mental acuity and concentration. To get the maximum effect possible, you should combine choline with other nootropic supplements.