Essential for brain function, what is choline?
1. Improves
verbal memory2. Improves the speed of information processing in infants3. Helps reduce body mass
Hello. I'm a pharmacist Jinny.
Have you ever heard of choline? If you're taking acetylcholine, also known as a brain supplement or dementia supplement , you may have an idea.
Choline is a type of vitamin B complex that is synthesized into acetylcholine in the body. Acetylcholine contributes to the regulation of learning and memory in the central nervous system. In addition, choline is used to synthesize phospholipids, which are components of cell membranes, and is responsible for flushing fat deposits in the liver.
Now, let's take a look at the various benefits of choline that have been validated by academia.
As we age, reasoning, spatial perception, and language skills naturally decline. So sometimes I get frustrated because I can't think of words in a conversation. Choline is a source of acetylcholine, which supports memory and learning, so it has a positive effect on brain metabolism mediated by acetylcholine.
In this regard, a paper published in the Archives of neurology in 1996 reported the results that older adults with low verbal memory compared to their peers improved their verbal memory when they took choline [1].
"On the flip side, this study showed that citicoline (a source of choline) improved verbal memory in older subjects who performed worse than their peers."
Choline promotes fetal and placental tissue expansion and DNA methylation during the prenatal period. It also aids in the formation of phosphatidylcholine, a key component of cell membranes necessary for signaling, brain development, and fetal growth.
A 2018 study published in the FASEB journal reported that children of mothers supplemented with choline from the third trimester of pregnancy until birth had faster information processing. The paper attributes these results to higher availability of choline-derived cell membrane phospholipids, which improves nerve conduction rates [2].
"Mean time to response (RT) across the four ages (4, 7, 10 and 13 months) was significantly faster for infants born to mothers in the choline 930 mg group. These results indicate that choline intake of about twice the recommended amount during the end of pregnancy improves the speed at which infants process information."
Choline is involved in fat metabolism and is useful in preventing fatty liver and excess fat in the blood. In addition, choline's efficient fat metabolism is associated with higher levels of satiety, which may also support overall weight loss.
In this regard, a paper was published in 2014 in the Journal of Human Kinetics that studied the relationship between choline supplementation and body mass [3].
"In conclusion, choline supplementation can rapidly reduce body mass without adverse effects on the biochemical level or static strength."
Today, in a paper, we looked at the various benefits associated with choline supplementation. Choline is an essential nutrient that is produced by the body and must be supplemented through food or supplements. However, it is important to note that consuming more than 3.5 grams of choline per day can cause side effects such as diarrhea and vomiting.
I hope you have a healthy day in body and mind. It was Jinny.
[1] Spiers, P. A., Myers, D., Hochanadel, G. S., Lieberman, H. R., & Wurtman, R. J. (1996). Citicoline improves verbal memory in aging. Archives of neurology, 53(5), 441–448.
[2] Caudill, M. A., Strupp, B. J., Muscalu, L., Nevins, J., & Canfield, R. L. (2018). Maternal choline supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy improves infant information processing speed: a randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding study. FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 32(4), 2172–2180.
[3] Elsawy, G., Abdelrahman, O., & Hamza, A. (2014). Effect of choline supplementation on rapid weight loss and biochemical variables among female taekwondo and judo athletes. Journal of human kinetics, 40, 77–82.
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