Buy Choline Guide: What Type of Choline should you Purchase?

Many people buy Choline supplements to improve memory, recall, neural plasticity, and concentration.

Choline is an essential nutrient that has a few important roles to play in the way the brain works. The body produces a small amount of Choline on its own, but not enough to meet all of the dietary requirements. Some foods contain Choline, however amounts are often low in the typical diet.

Choline is necessary to ensure that brain cells are properly maintained and it also is used to make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine which controls much of our short-term memory capacity as well as our ability to recall stored memories.

Choline is a water-soluble vitamin-like compound that appears in many B-vitamin-complex formulations such as with Inositol. You can buy Choline in several different formats, each with a varying degree of effectiveness.

Not all choline supplements are the same and it is important that you get the right ones in order to see the results you want.

Choline

Cholinergic Supplement

Memory

Brain Health

Cognition

How It Works:

• Supports memory and synaptic plasticity
• Raises acetylcholine levels
• Promotes brain health and focus

Dosage:

Between 250 - 1,000 mg per day

Safety:

Rated Likely Safe

Top Choline Products* ❯

View User Ratings* ❯

Why Do We Need Choline?

Choline is present in a number of different food sources like egg yolks, fatty meats, and peanut butter.

However, it has a low concentration in the typical North American diet as many of the best sources of Choline are in high fat foods which people are often discouraged from eating today.

A population study in the USA found that as much as 90% of the population may not be getting enough choline from their food and certain groups like pregnant women have an even higher risk factor.

Choline intake also needs to be increased in elderly individuals who typically start to see declining levels of this nutrient in their system as they age.

Choline is found in various forms in the membranes of many cells within the body. In the brain, having enough Choline stored is essential since it is a precursor to the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine. Low levels of Acetylcholine can lead to impairments in memory formation as well as decreased general thought processing.

Choline is also vital in maintaining the health of your liver. What this pseudo-vitamin does is prevent lipid (fat) droplets from accumulating in the liver. Accumulation can lead to a condition known as fatty liver. Choline helps your body to transport these fatty acids to wherever they are needed in the body so they can be metabolized into energy.

Having enough Choline in your diet is also necessary for the proper maintenance, growth, and repair of cell membranes. The main components of Choline are abundant within healthy cell membranes.

Choline is active in making Phosphatidylcholine which helps to build new cell membranes. Supplementing with additional sources of this nutrient may aid in the repair of existing membranes that have become damaged. This is especially true of cells damaged due to excessive alcohol consumption.

When it comes to your brain, cell membranes are important for more than regulating which nutrients can come in and permitting waste products to go out. Your neuronal membranes are actually intricate systems for controlling the electrical conductivity of the environment surrounding brain cells as well as housing synaptic vesicles and receptors that facilitate inter-neuron communication.

Many users consider Choline to have beneficial properties for fat burning and weight loss. There are a number of diet supplements that include Choline in their ingredients. One form of Choline known as Alpha GPC has been observed to increase the rate of fat oxidation within 1 hour after taking it.

Due to its effect on the transport of liver fats, it may help burn ‘trapped’ fat. It is believed to promote the more efficient use of fat by the body, and potentially inhibit weight gain.

Many weight lifters and body builders use the supplement to delay the onset of fatigue, which can allow them to do more reps and build strength and power more easily. Some research has even shown that Alpha GPC can even increase the release of Growth Hormone after exercise.

Finally, Choline is an anti-inflammatory agent. It is well known that one of the markers of disease and poor overall health is the presence of general inflammation, which can often lead to a number of complications. Reducing and eliminating excessive systemic inflammation is a straightforward way of improve your whole body health.

Research on the cognitive effects of Choline supplementation are promising, however research is fairly limited, and more large-scale human trials need to be done. At this time, Choline is available in the USA as a health supplement only, and the FDA has not approved Choline as a drug to prevent or treat any conditions.

Choline, Acetylcholine, & Brain Function

Recently, Choline has received a lot of attention for how it works within your brain and nervous system.

Once ingested, Choline has the effect of crossing over the blood-brain barrier and entering into the central nervous system. As the compound starts to break down it turns into Acetylcholine – the most important excitatory neurotransmitter which plays a vital role in mental processing.

Some studies have shown that low levels of Acetylcholine may be one of the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of cognitive impairment. Researchers have found that Acetylcholine is involved in short-term, episodic, and spatial memory formation.

It is also observed to increase memory capacity and even improve attention span and the ability to concentrate and focus. Students will often take Acetylcholine boosting supplements to increase their academic performance and enhance their learning capacity.

Where to Buy Choline

Some forms of Choline are widely available while others have limited distribution.

For a long time, Choline Bitartrate and Phosphatidylcholine (Lecithin) were the two most popular types of Choline vitamins sold.

These compounds are fairly easy to buy at your local drug store or health food store. However, more recent research into neuroscience and cognitive enhancement has found that these supplements are limited in their effectiveness because they are not fully available to the brain.

Choline Bitartrate (which is only 40% choline to begin with) is positively charged and therefore much of it is repelled by the blood-brain barrier.

Two other natural forms of Choline that you can buy are known to have greater bioavailability and are better able to target the brain.

Citicoline (CDP Choline) is naturally produced in the liver from Choline and is used in the treatment of senile dementia as well as age-related memory loss. Alpha GPC is found in milk and leads to the greatest increase in Acetylcholine levels within the brain.

Both CDP Choline and Alpha GPC have cognitive enhancement benefits above and beyond simply providing Choline to the brain; they also can increase energy levels and concentration as well as improving memory and intelligence.

Between these two supplements, Alpha GPC is considered to have a slight edge in potency but it is really up to you which one you use. You can buy Citicoline at a cheaper price, though you may be able to use a smaller dosage of Alpha GPC for best results.

Choline Dosage

Proper dosage is dependent on many factors, and your personal dosage may be different from the general guidelines listed below. It is recommended that you always speak with your doctor before beginning any new supplements so they can help determine the best dosage for your needs and determine any possible negative interactions with your current supplements or medications.

Depending on the Choline formulation you buy, there will be different recommended dosages advertised by the manufacturer. Supplements like Choline Bitartrate are sometimes used at a range of 1,000 to 3,000 mg per day for best results.

For the stronger sources of Choline, you can use a dosage anywhere between 250 and 600 mg per day. Most people prefer to take their Choline dosages in the morning or split between the morning and afternoon. Because Alpha GPC and Citicoline can increase mental activity, taking these supplements later in the day make it difficult to fall asleep.

Side Effects & Safety

Before you buy Choline, you might want to ask your doctor for their recommendations on how to take it and whether there are any reasons you might not want to take it.

Choline is considered to be highly safe and most people do not experience negative side effects. The one exception is that diarrhea is fairly common when taking Choline Bitartrate supplements because this compound is significantly broken down by bacteria in the gut. Some mild side effects may be experienced at higher dosage levels. These can include an increase body temperature, increased sweating, and loss of appetite.

When using certain forms of Choline in large quantities, subjects have reported that they develop a fishy odor. You can eliminate this by switching to a higher quality Choline source like Alpha GPC or Citicoline.

Another common occurrence is headaches when taking Choline. If you are noticing the persistent coincidence of headaches when using this supplement, cut down to a smaller dosage or take a few days of rest from your normal dosage routine.

In general, you can buy Choline with the confidence that this is one of the safest nootropics available and most people do not experience side effects.

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