Choline makes up a part of the human cell structure and is recently discovered as a nutrient. In 1998 the Institute of Medicine deigned it a required nutrient. The FDA in their re-vamp of the Nutrition Facts Panel in 2018 added choline as a voluntary nutrient and set a Daily Value of 550 mg. (A “voluntary nutrient” means that companies formatting their nutrition facts panels can disclose the amount with the percent daily value, if it is included in the food product. However, if it is not in the food product, they are not required to disclose the amount.) Previous to this, the FDA did not consider choline a nutrient and did not have a daily value associated with it. Like creatine, the body does produce small amounts of choline on its own through the liver. But, the amount the body produces is not sufficient for daily health. In order to get the daily recommended amount of choline, intake through food or supplements is essential.
Choline has a wide variety of different roles in the body—it plays a role in metabolism and energy production; communication between different body systems—like between the nervous system and muscles; and it is responsible for brain development, memory, and mood. Most of the studies around choline’s efficacy and importance is with metabolism, energy production, communication between different body systems, and brain development (especially in infants and in-utero). For purposes of discussions on nootropics, the focus here is going to be on the importance of it to memory and mood.
Large, robust studies link choline to increases in improved brain function, including better memory recall and processing in adults of all ages. Another study has shown that supplementing with 1000mg of choline per day has led to improved short term and long term memory in older adults with poor memory. There have been studies on the impact of choline on regulation of mood, but the results have been mixed.
There are many different forms of choline. Choline Bitartrate is cheap and commonly used, however there are not many studies looking at its efficacy. The Citicoline and Alpha-GPC forms have the most studies behind it for improving memory, attention, and increasing mental energy. Phosphatidylcholine and lecithin are other supplement-based sources of choline, but there is a low amount of choline present in these substances making them not as effective. For improving memory and attention, Citicoline studies show an effective dosage of between 250-500mg per day (with the 250mg dosage being the most effective). Alpha GPC is most studied to be effective at preventing cognitive decline (especially in older adults) and the effective dosage is 1200mg, divided into 400mg, three times a day. Food based sources of choline include eggs, meat, and seafood.
Alpha GPC based products include Ghost Energy RTD and Olly’s Laser Focus gummies (be aware of this product since it only contains 20mg of Alpha GPC, much lower than any recommended dosage). Citicoline based products include C4 Natural Energy RTD and Juggernaut Energy (note that this also contains caffeine and theanine for focus as well).
Where else have you seen choline based supplements? Do you think they are effective?
Any suggested products are purely the writer’s own opinion and does not imply affiliation with the brand.