How much Choline should you be Taking? 5 Key Questions Answered

Ever wondered how much choline you should be taking? Your body can manufacture its own choline, but not enough. So, you need to get extra choline from your diet. Most people get enough choline in their diets to remain healthy, but not enough to experience the great Nootropic benefits. Choline has also been marketed as an important nutrient in milk. However, there are a number of other sources with higher choline content. In this article, we’ll explore the dietary requirements for choline, some good choline food sources, and how to use choline for Nootropics effects. [caption id=""attachment_914"" align=""alignright"" width=""640""] A healthy diet usually contains enough choline to prevent health effects[/caption]

1.    Daily dietary requirements for Choline

Choline is called an essential nutrient. This means that you need to get choline from your diet. Our bodies can actually produce choline, but not enough to function properly. Choline is used in a huge number of biochemical pathways and is essential to your good health, especially in maintaining cell membranes and in your liver.[1] According to the Oregon State University Micronutrients guidelines, the requirements for choline are:

• For men: 550 mg choline / day

• For women: 420 mg choline / day

• For children under 18: 200 – 375 mg choline / day [2]

 

2.    So, how much choline is in Your Food?

[caption id=""attachment_916"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Milk for choline? Try eggs or grains![/caption] Choline is found in varying concentrations in most foods. According to the USDA Database for the Choline Content of Common Foods, the foods highest in choline are:

1. Whole Eggs – roughly 250 mg / 100 g egg yolk

1. Meats and Fish – around 80 mg / 100 g meat and fish

1. Whole grains – around 70 mg / 100 g grains

1. Breakfast cereal – roughly 50 mg / 100 g cereal

1. Vegetables and fruit – around 30 mg / 100 g fruit and veg [3]

Turns out, the myth of choline in milk isn’t actually true. While milk does contain choline (around 20 mg choline / 100 ml milk) ¹, you’re better off eating eggs, a bunch of fruits and vegetables, or whole grains, as these contain more choline than milk.  

3.    Soy: A good vegetarian source of choline?

There are a number of different soy products, all containing varying amounts of choline. According to Self Nutrition Data, here are the levels of choline in some soy products:

• Soy flour: 192 mg / 100 g

• Soy protein isolate: 191 mg / 100 g [4]

If you are avoiding animal products and would like to learn more about choline in your diet, check out the page on Vegan Health.  

4.    Got Eggs? Got Choline?

Eggs are very high dietary sources of choline. In fact, eggs contain the highest levels of choline in all food sources! According to our previous two sources of nutritional information, eggs contain between around 250 – 680 mg choline / 100 g egg yolk! ^{1 2} [caption id=""attachment_905"" align=""alignright"" width=""287""] Liftmode Choline, 99%+ purity[/caption] That’s so much choline! However, eggs differ in size. Most medium sized eggs weigh around 50 – 60 grams.[5] So, you’ll need at least two eggs a day to fulfill your dietary choline requirements. Also, these data are for raw eggs, their choline content lowers greatly when they’re cooked. Eggs are often cooked with oil, which has serious health effects.  

5.    How Much Choline Bitartrate to take for Nootropic Effects

You’ll need more than the normal dietary amounts of choline to experience the wonderful Nootropic effects of this compound.  The recommended Nootropic dosage for choline bitartrate is around 500 – 2000 mg daily. [6] [caption id=""attachment_915"" align=""alignright"" width=""300""] Students and professionals are using choline to boost their cognitive performance[/caption] For Nootropics effects we’d recommend between 1500 – 3000 mg daily. Choline is an essential nutrient and is remarkably safe. However, start with a lower dosage first, as high doses may cause headaches. Higher Nootropics doses will produce more pronounced effects including noticeable improvements in memory, cognitive performance, and mental stimulation.  

Conclusion

Choline is a great compound with vital functions in your brain and body. Most people consume enough choline through their diets to avoid health issues. However, to experience the potent Nootropic effects of choline, you’ll definitely need to take a choline bitartrate supplement. x          

References

[1] Choline: Dietary Requirements and Role in Brain Development, L.M. Sanders, S.H. Zeisel, Nutr Today. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 Aug 20, Published in final edited form as: Nutr Today. 2007; 42(4): 181–186, doi:  10.1097, available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518394/ [2] Choline, Micronutrient Information Center, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, available from http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/other-nutrients/choline , retrieved on August 23, 2016 [3] USDA Database for the Choline Content of Common Foods, Nutrient Data Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, January 2008, available from http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/80400525/Data/Choline/Choln02.pdf [4] Foods highest in Choline, Self Nutrition Data, available from http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000144000000000000000-1w.html , retrieved on August 23, 2016 [5] Egg Sizes, EggInfo.co.uk, available from https://www.egginfo.co.uk/egg-facts-and-figures/industry-information/egg-sizes, retrieved on August 23, 2016 [6] Choline, Examine.com, available from https://examine.com/supplements/choline/