The Nutrient Choline: All the Facts About This Vital Substance
Choline is an essential nutrient required for fat metabolism and liver function. Discover all the facts here.
What is Choline?
Choline is a vitamin-like substance, formerly known as vitamin B4. It is one of the essential nutrients that the body can only produce in limited amounts, making it dependent on dietary intake.
Choline is particularly abundant in animal-based foods such as eggs, dairy products, meat, and liver. Plant-based foods contain significantly lower levels of choline, which is why the daily choline intake from a purely plant-based diet often falls below the recommended level. The EU recommends a daily intake of 400 mg for adolescents aged 15 and above and adults.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed the critical role of choline in maintaining certain bodily functions with three health claims. It confirms that choline
Without choline, these metabolic processes would not run smoothly, leading to long-term health impairments.
What is Choline Made Of?
Choline is a so-called quaternary ammonium compound, composed of nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Due to its structural similarity to the B vitamins, it was once referred to as vitamin B4.
In our metabolism, choline is converted into acetylcholine, one of the most important neurotransmitters. As a signal transmitter between nerves, acetylcholine plays a central role in regulating numerous body functions, such as blood pressure and digestion.
How Was Choline Discovered?
Choline was discovered in 1849 by the German chemist Adolph Strecker in pig bile, who named it after the ancient Greek word "cholé" for bile. In 1866 and 1867, it was independently synthesized for the first time by scientists Adolf Baeyer and Charles Adolphe Wurtz.
Which Foods Contain Choline?
In the following table, we have listed the choline content of selected foods. It shows that high levels of choline are mainly found in animal products, while plant-based foods contain significantly smaller amounts.
|
Food |
∅Choline Content per 100 g |
|
Egg yolk |
820.5 mg |
|
Beef liver |
418.2 mg |
|
Pork liver |
301.6 mg |
|
Herring |
179.4 mg |
|
Chicken meat |
65.8 mg |
|
Whole milk |
14.3 mg |
|
Buttermilk |
17.7 mg |
|
Wheat germ |
152.1 mg |
|
Oat flakes |
32.2 mg |
|
Soy milk |
23.6 mg |
|
Tofu |
27.4 mg |
|
Pumpkin seeds |
63.1 mg |
Can Choline Be Supplemented?
Choline can be consumed not only through daily diet but also as a dietary supplement. It is available in capsule form, both as a standalone product or combined with other nutrients. The dosage varies depending on the product. A pure monopreparation is generally higher dosed than a combination preparation. You can find useful information about dosage in our guide article "Choline Dosing: Everything You Need to Know About Taking It."
Why Is Choline Important for the Body?
Choline is an essential component of transport proteins that carry fat and cholesterol from the liver to tissues. Without choline, this transport pathway would no longer function, and fat would accumulate in the liver, significantly impairing the liver's role as a metabolic hub.
Choline is also needed to lower homocysteine levels in the blood. Elevated homocysteine is a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Last but not least, choline is required for the synthesis of acetylcholine, one of the most important neurotransmitters in our metabolism, which ensures that nerve signals can be transmitted to muscles.
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