What Is Choline And Why You Need It
The human body is a complex machine; with so many different vitamins, minerals, and
other types of nutrition necessary to keep it up and running, it can sometimes be hard
to keep track of them all.
Fortunately, nutrition experts are working every day to research and gather new information
about the food we eat and how to get the most out of your diet.
Not too long ago, we released a video on the importance of the mineral selenium and what
it does for your body; on a similar note, today we’d like to tell you about another
obscure nutrient that you may not have heard of but is nonetheless an important staple
of a healthy diet: let’s talk about choline.
Before we start, make sure you’re getting your recommended daily intake of Bestie content
by subscribing to our channel and ringing the notification bell.
As far as nutritional information goes, the discovery of the compound known as choline
was a relatively recent development; the classification of choline as an essential healthy nutrient
was only acknowledged by the Institute of Medicine as recently as 1998.
Despite this comparatively newfound classification, choline is indeed an important component when
it comes to maintaining a healthy and nutritious diet.
So at this point, you’re probably asking: what exactly is choline, and what makes it
so important in the first place?
While it is important for your body, choline is technically neither a vitamin nor a mineral;
instead, choline is an organic compound that is also water-soluble, meaning that it dissolves
when in contact with water.
While your liver is able to produce small amounts of choline in your body, this is nowhere
near the amount that your body actually needs, and as such the majority of your recommended
intake of choline has to be obtained through your diet instead.
Choline performs a wide variety of essential functions within your body, playing important
roles in maintaining the health of your liver, muscles, nervous system, metabolism and even
your brain.
Choline is also used in the creation of special fats that support the membrane of your body’s
cells, as well as compounds and substances that help break down cholesterol and help
prevent buildup in your liver over time.
The benefits of choline even reach as deep as your DNA itself, assisting with important
parts of DNA synthesis along with vitamins such as folate and B12.
It’s also possible that a high choline intake may also reduce the risk of developing heart
disease, which can always be considered a welcome addition.
So how much choline do you need in a day to make it a part of a healthy diet?
Unfortunately, at this time of writing.
the actual recommended daily intake of choline is something nutrition experts haven’t quite
pinned down as of yet; this is due to both a lack of available evidence as well as the
fact that the actual choline content of most foods are still mostly unknown.Despite this,
however, the Institute of Medicine has managed to prescribe a value for an adequate intake
of choline based on what little evidence is currently available, with suggested intake
levels varying depending on a person’s age, gender, and genetic makeup.
On average, adult women are suggested to work at least 425 milligrams of choline into their
daily diet, while for adult men the suggested intake is 550 milligrams per day.
Women who are currently pregnant or nursing are recommended to increase their choline
intake as well, suggesting 450 milligrams of choline for pregnant women and 550 milligrams
for breastfeeding women.
Ultimately, however, what can be considered an “adequate” intake of choline on a daily
basis can vary greatly from person to person, with some people even developing symptoms
of choline deficiency despite consuming the suggested amount for their age and gender.
Because there is no information pertaining to an official recommended daily intake of
choline as of yet, the suggestions for adequate intake of choline should be viewed as a rough
guideline as opposed to anything definitive.
While relatively uncommon, a deficiency of choline in your diet can potentially be highly
unhealthy for your body and may result in damage to your liver and muscles.
According to a 2008 study, diets lacking in adequate choline intake were found to be most
damaging for post-menopausal women, with men being close behind.
In addition to postmenopausal women, choline is especially important to women who are pregnant,
as a higher choline intake can help in order to minimize the risk of neural tube defects
in unborn children as well as other complications which can occur during pregnancy.
Other people at a potentially higher risk for choline deficiency include endurance athletes
such as marathon runners and people who consume large quantities of alcohol on a regular basis.
So now we know what choline is and why it’s important, but none of that is actually going
to do us any good unless we actually know how to get choline into our everyday diet,
right?
Luckily, there are a number of food sources you can use to integrate a healthy serving
of choline into your daily meal plan.
Some of the richest sources of dietary choline include eggs, organ meat such as beef and
chicken liver, and fish such as salmon and cod.
For vegetarians and vegans, you can also get your choline supply from vegetables such as
broccoli and cauliflower, as well as from certain vegetable-based oils such as soybean
oil.
Additionally, it’s believed that food additives such as soy lecithin contain enough choline
to make a worthwhile contribution to your daily intake as well.
also supplements available which can potentially up your choline consumption, although the
actual choline cont of these supplements is greatly diminished compared to the amount
you can get from eating foods rich in choline.
A healthy and balanced diet is perhaps the most important aspect when it comes to maintaining
a healthy lifestyle.
With so many different but equally important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients your
body needs throughout the day, it can be easy for some lesser-known but still essential
bits of nutritional info to end up slipping through the cracks.
For anyone who has never even heard of choline before this video, we hope that this information
helps you towards a healthier and more well-rounded diet.
Was this video helpful or informative for you?
Are there any similar topics related to nutritional info that you’d like to see us tackle in
the near future?
We’re always eager to hear what our viewers have to say, so please share your feedback
in the comments section below and help us keep the conversation going.