Choline
Specific molecules
Related to the B vitamins, it serves cell membranes and a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.
A plate without egg or liver has to look for it in legumes and crucifers, where it is far more diluted.
Effects and benefits
Related to the B vitamins, it builds the membranes of every cell and acetylcholine, the messenger that commands muscles and serves memory. It contributes to normal liver function, and needs rise during pregnancy.
Choline contributes to the maintenance of normal liver function, to normal lipid metabolism and to normal homocysteine metabolism (Regulation 432/2012). Without it, the liver can no longer export its fats and accumulates them.
By sex and age: EFSA sets the adequate intake at 400 mg a day for an adult, 480 during pregnancy and 520 during breastfeeding (EFSA, 2016), the fetal brain using a lot of it. Before menopause, estrogens help women make more.
The body makes a little, not enough: it has been recognized as a nutrient in its own right since 1998 (Institute of Medicine, 1998).
Gut bacteria turn it into TMA, which the liver converts into TMAO — a much-debated molecule in cardiovascular research. It is one of the rare cases where the microbiota makes something one is not necessarily looking for.
Sources: EU Regulation 432/2012 · EFSA, 2016 · Institute of Medicine, 1998
Where to find it (22)
- Almond
- Bambara groundnut
- Black chickpea
- Black soybean
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprout
- Button mushroom
- Cauliflower
- Chickpeas
- Fermented tofu
- Flageolet / borlotti bean
- Green / brown lentil
- Lablab bean
- Lima bean
- Peanut
- Pumpkin seeds
- Quinoa
- Shiitake
- Soybeans / edamame
- Sunflower seeds
- Urad bean
- White bean