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Memory Loss/Forgetfulness
Published in Charles Theisler, Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
Choline is a vitamin-like essential nutrient and is a precursor and necessary building block for the production of two vital components of the nervous system: (1) acetylcho-line (a vital neurotransmitter) and (2) sphingomyelin (which is required for nerve cell protection).
Animal Source Foods
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Eggs are also an excellent source of choline, which plays an important role in fetal and neonatal brain development (116). Inadequate choline intake during pregnancy increases the risk for neural tube defects such as spina bifida (116). Choline intake is also associated with decreased plasma levels of homocysteine and inflammatory factors. Recent studies have also shown that high intake of choline is associated with reduced breast cancer incidence and mortality (116). However, studies also show that a majority of the population, including a majority of pregnant and lactating women, do not have adequate choline intakes and that adding an egg a day to the diet could alleviate this inadequacy (116). The importance of choline in fetal and neonatal brain development has been shown in numerous studies, and inadequate choline intakes during these critical periods can have very negative effects (116). Choline plays roles in neurotransmission, brain development, and bone integrity (112). For example, acetylcholine is a well-known neurotransmitter of the central nervous system. Moreover, dietary choline is considered especially important for maintaining a healthy liver (117). Dietary sources of choline include egg yolk, organ meat such as liver, and wheat germ. Eggs have also been shown to promote weight loss in overweight and obese subjects by increasing feelings of satiety and reducing short-term energy intake (113). Briefly, thanks to myriad biologically active components, egg provides well-balanced nutrients for infants and adults.
Preconceptual Health
Published in Michelle Tollefson, Nancy Eriksen, Neha Pathak, Improving Women's Health Across the Lifespan, 2021
Nancy L. Eriksen, Kristi R. VanWinden, John McHugh
Choline is an essential nutrient that is of increasing interest due to its role in transporting fats across cell membranes and for the proper function of neurotransmitters and brain development. Choline also influences epigenetic modification that regulates gene expression through DNA and histone methylation. Recently, findings from randomized controlled trials show a benefit of prenatal choline supplements on cognitive outcomes in children.86 Also, there is some data suggesting that choline supplementations can help diminish some of the adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on infant growth and cognitive function.86 The RDA of choline is 425 mg/day in reproductive-age women. However, consumption of 450–1000 mg/day of choline is suggested because of emerging evidence that it would support fetal development and improve pregnancy outcomes.86 Plant-based sources of choline include soy, nuts, legumes, broccoli, quinoa, buckwheat, Brussel sprouts, oats, and wheat.87
Intake of eggs, choline, lutein, zeaxanthin, and DHA during pregnancy and their relationship to fetal neurodevelopment
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2023
Danielle N. Christifano, Lynn Chollet-Hinton, Dirk Hoyer, Alexander Schmidt, Kathleen M. Gustafson
Experts agree choline is essential for proper fetal and infant development; however, nearly all pregnant women in the United States fall short of the Adequate Intake (450 mg/day), with only ∼10% of Americans meeting recommendations.1 Eggs are one of the richest sources of choline in the human diet, providing 115 mg of choline per one yolk, yet most women get their choline primarily from milk which contains fewer mg of choline per serving.2 Furthermore, eggs contain a variety of nutrients in addition to choline, including lutein, zeaxanthin, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which have been implicated in infant memory and cognition.3 While each of these nutrients have been studied in isolation in terms of infant outcomes, together they have the potential to act synergistically to promote healthy brain development early in life.
Hippocampal neural cell degeneration and memory deficit in high-fat diet-induced postnatal obese rats– exploring the comparable benefits of choline and DHA or environmental enrichment
Published in International Journal of Neuroscience, 2021
Gayathri S. Prabhu, Mohandas K. G. Rao, Kiranmai S. Rai
Alternately, intervention with dietary brain nutrients like choline and DHA to high fat diet-induced obese rats resulted in significantly higher mean number of surviving neural cells in CA1 and CA3 sub-region of hippocampus compared to the same in age matched OB rats. Supplementation of choline and DHA to OB rats helps reduce LDL levels and as choline helps in maintaining lipoprotein and membrane structural integrity it favors neural cell survival [35]. Choline deficiency has been associated with fatty liver, liver damage. Studies have shown that dietary supplementation of choline can regulate cholesterol metabolism in liver of phosphatidyl-ethanolamine-N-methyltransferase [PEMT]/Ldlr knockout mice fed a high-fat diet, thus maintaining cholesterol levels [36]. And also choline consists of methyl group donors that support brain structure and brain functions related to learning, cognitive and memory functions [37]. On the other hand, docosahexaenoic acid an omega three fatty acid, influences PEMT for the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine from phosphatidyl-ethanolamine [38]. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and oxidative damage which in turn preserves the neural cell damage when exposed to high fat diet [39]. Thus DHA supplements along with choline favors reduced neural cell damage. Docosahexaenoic acid when given with choline has been shown to stimulate choline acetyltransferase [ChAT] enzymatic activity thus stimulating neural cell growth and development [40].Combined supplementation of choline and DHA enhances neurodevelopment and membrane growth [41].
Choline: The Neurocognitive Essential Nutrient of Interest to Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Published in Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2020
Taylor C. Wallace, Jan Krzysztof Blusztajn, Marie A. Caudill, Kevin C. Klatt, Steven H. Zeisel
Foods naturally containing choline include chicken liver (3 oz: 247 mg); salmon (3 oz: 187 mg); eggs (1 large egg with yolk: 147 mg); shiitake mushrooms (1/2 cup: 58 mg); chicken, broilers or fryers (3 oz: 56 mg); beef, grass-fed strip steak (3 oz: 55 mg); wheat germ (1 oz toasted: 51 mg); milk (8 oz: 38 mg); brussels sprouts (1/2 cup: 32 mg); and almonds (1 oz: 15 mg). Select plant foods such as cruciferous vegetables and certain beans are good sources of choline, contributing approximately 10% of the daily recommended intake (Zeisel and da Costa 2009). Foods, particularly plant foods, also contain betaine, which cannot be converted to choline but can be used as a methyl donor, thereby sparing some of the choline requirement. In animal models, a minimum 50% of the dietary requirement of choline is still needed, but the remaining 50% can be spared by intake of betaine (Craig 2004; Dilger et al. 2007). Choline is available commercially as an ingredient in many fortified foods and dietary supplements as choline bitartrate or choline chloride. The US Food and Drug Administration (2017) has mandated fortification of non-milk-based infant formula to the level present in human breast milk since 1985.