Inadequate daily intake of this vitamin-like compound can lead to an enlarged heart, liver damage, weight gain as well as Alzheimer’s disease.
A deficiency in choline is linked to an increased Alzheimer’s risk.
While the liver naturally produces small amounts of the vitamin-like nutrient choline, it cannot manufacture enough to meet the body’s daily needs.
Choline is found in a range of foods, including egg yolks, beef, fish, chicken, wheat germ, soya beans, dairy products, peanuts, and almonds.
Choline is well known for its effect in treating memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
The US Institute of Medicine sets the minimum daily choline requirement at 550 mg for men and 425 mg for women.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women require at least 450 mg and 550 mg of choline per day respectively, due to the crucial role of this nutrient in infant development.
Despite these daily requirements, national dietary surveys have found that less than 10 percent of Americans are meeting the recommendations.
Essential for brain health
Choline is not only essential for brain health but also influences liver function, shortfalls in this nutrient can cause cell damage and irregularities in fat metabolism.
A study examined how choline deficiency can adversely affect the brain, liver, and heart.
The research team found that dietary choline deficiency in mice led to weight gain, reduced glucose metabolism, enlargement of the heart, neurological alterations, and liver damage.
Choline deficiency also led to elevated levels of tau tangles and beta-amyloid plaques, two key features of Alzheimer’s disease.
Amyloid plaques are clustered proteins between the nerve cells and tau tangles are abnormal accumulations of tau proteins inside neurons.
Dr Ramon Velazquez, the study’s senior author, highlighted that human choline deficiency presents a double-edged problem:
“It’s a twofold problem.
First, people don’t reach the adequate daily intake of choline established by the Institute of Medicine in 1998.
And secondly, there is vast literature showing that the recommended daily intake amounts are not optimal for brain-related functions.”
Beyond the brain
The study found a link between choline deficiency and a range of neurological and physical changes.
Adequate levels of choline, on the other hand, may improve overall health and protect the nervous system.
For example, elevated levels of homocysteine have been found to be neurotoxic and associated with neurodegenerative diseases but choline can reduce homocysteine levels.
Furthermore, choline helps synthesise acetylcholine — a vital neurotransmitter responsible for learning, memory, and attention.
These findings support other studies concerning the influence of dietary choline on human health.
The findings may encourage people, particularly vegans and those following plant-based diets, to pay closer attention to their choline intake.
The authors also explored proteins in the hippocampus, one of the brain areas wracked by Alzheimer’s.
Inadequate choline status appeared to affect hippocampal networks associated with postsynaptic membrane regulation and microtubule function — two areas that are vital for normal brain function.
In addition, blood plasma samples revealed that choline deficiency altered several liver-produced proteins that play important roles in metabolism.
Dr Velazquez said:
“Our work provides further support that dietary choline should be consumed on a daily basis given the need throughout the body.”
Related
The study was published in the journal Aging Cell (Dave et al., 2023).
