Let’s be very clear about what this means.
It means that choline is necessary for proper function. It does NOT mean that consuming massive quantities of choline will have special protective effects.
Like most nutrients, either you get enough or you don’t. There is no benefit to consuming massive excess quantities. Excess can be as harmful as inadequacy.
I agree, but what is interesting is that getting adequate choline from the diet is not as easy as one would think, when we are told to limit foods for cholesterol (egg yolks and liver) or other purposes like saturated fat and high iron issues (beef).
The NIH says men need to eat 550 mg a day and women need to eat 425 mg a day.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/
The following foods are some of the highest in choline (from the NIH website):
356 mg - Beef liver, pan fried, 3 ounces
147 mg- Egg, hard boiled, 1 large
117 mg - Beef top round, separable lean only, braised, 3 ounces
107 mg - Soybeans, roasted, ½ cup
72 mg - Chicken breast, roasted, 3 ounces
A man would need 23 ounces of chicken breast a day, if skipping yolks and beef, or, instead, munch down over two and a half cups of roasted soybeans.
I know I don’t eat 23 ounces of chicken a day, but I try to get at least an egg a day. My wife and I don’t eat a lot of beef, any more, but we do eat chicken often and have fish a time or two a week.
Consequently, my wife and I actually supplement choline as citicholine or get in some lecithin, to get ourselves up to just the official “Adequate” level doctors say we need every day.
There is only so much choline in broccoli, peas, cauliflower, celery, and other veggies. For vegetarians or vegans, they have a similar problem.
Yes, mommy