Choline – What you need to know

Have you heard the news? There’s a nutrient that’s getting some buzz worthy attention lately. It’s called choline. But do you know what choline is? Or what choline does? Or what foods contain choline? Have you even heard of it before? Maybe not. It hasn’t been a high profile featured nutrient in the past – certainly not like Vitamin C, or D3, or a B-Complex for example. However, thanks to continued research and technology, choline has been discovered to be one of those vital nutrients that can provide a vast number of benefits in the body.

First, although our body can make a very small amount of choline in the liver, most of the choline in your body comes from the foods we eat or through supplementation. Although we all want to do our best when it comes to our diet, we frequently experience occasions when our diets are lacking in the foods that contain high concentrations of this very important nutrient.

So what are some of those choline rich food?

Choline is found in the following foods:

1. Beef
2. Dairy-Milk, Yogurt, Cheese
3. Eggs
4. Poultry
5. Fish
6. Brussel sprouts
7. Broccoli
8. Cauliflower
9. Red potatoes
10. Kidney beans
11. Peanuts
12. Quinoa
13. Soybeans

But what does choline actually do in our body? And why now are we hearing so much about this nutrient?

Every day, because of new technology and research, we’re learning more new and exciting things about health and our nutritional needs. Choline has come into the news due to its potential role in our cardiovascular and neurological health. Necessary to support memory, mood and muscle function this nutrient is gaining popularity. Choline is also needed by our cells to preserve the cells structural integrity.

There is a vast amount of information available to us today via social media and internet searching capabilities. Is this why choline has become a nutrient gaining in popularity? We can’t say for sure, however searching online for specific health concerns associated with mood and memory, choline appears as a nutrient to look at. So, as we become more in tune to our own personal nutritional needs, we begin to search out some specific nutrients that could play a role in our overall goal to achieving optimal health. Many supplements contain choline in the forms of choline bitartrate, phosphatidylcholine or lecithin and can be in combination with other vitamins and minerals or as a stand-alone product.

While first discovered in 1850 from isolated brain tissue (https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ) it wasn’t until 1998 that choline was officially recognized and an essential nutrient by the Institute of Medicine. They determined choline was needed for neurotransmitter synthesis, cell-membrane signaling, lipid transport and methyl-group metabolism (homocysteine support). Additionally, choline can support liver function and plays an important role in brain development in a fetus.

Although at one time choline was going to be called Vitamin B4, choline isn’t technically a vitamin or a mineral. It is classified as an organic water-soluble compound. It is often grouped with a B Vitamin complex due to the similarities shared with the B-Complex vitamins.

If you are looking for a high quality supplement containing choline or just choline as a single nutrient supplement, Country Life® has numerous options for you to choose from.

As a single nutrient supplement there are two high quality offerings from Country Life®. One is choline bitartrate and one is Phosphatidylcholine.

If you are looking for a product that would provide your B-Vitamins AND a good source of choline, the Country Life® Coenzyme B-Complex would be the recommended product.

Not only will you get a good source of choline in the Coenzyme B-Complex, you will also get coenzymated (biologically active forms to support utilization) B-vitamins to #PowerYourGreatnes!

Remember to always check with your health care provider before changing or adding any supplements to your current regime.