Choline
Choline is an essential nutrient the liver makes in small amounts but not enough on its own. Adults need 425 to 550 mg a day, and one egg gives about 150 mg.
425-550 mga day for adults, adequate intake (US)
400 mg for all adults in the EU (EFSA adequate intake)
Upper limit · 3,500 mg a day for adults (US)
- Most per 100 g 820mg Egg yolk
- Most per portion 147mg 1 egg
- Main sources Eggs, meat and fish then beans, nuts and cruciferous vegetables
- Below the target Most adults in US food surveys
Daily amount: the US adequate intake for adults aged 19 and over (NIH). Food figures per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central and CIQUAL.
Foods High in Choline
Ranked per 100 g, with what a usual portion gives, limited to 3 foods per category. Foods with a Caltide calorie page link to it.
E
Egg yolk
139 mg in 1 egg
820mg / 100 g
C
Caviar
79 mg in 1 tablespoon
491mg / 100 g
E
Egg
147 mg in 1 egg
Nutrition facts
294mg / 100 g
G
Goose egg
379 mg in 1 egg
263mg / 100 g
S
Sweetbreads
394 mg in 1 pair
208mg / 100 g
T
Tripe
285 mg in 1 cup
203mg / 100 g
C
Chicken liver
220 mg in 4 oz
194mg / 100 g
T
Tongue
31 mg in 1 oz yields
154mg / 100 g
S
Soy nuts
118 mg in 1 cup
124mg / 100 g
C
Chicken wing (pan-fried)
38 mg in 1 wing
108mg / 100 g
C
Chicken wing (restaurant)
38 mg in 1 wing
108mg / 100 g
S
Sun-dried tomatoes
58 mg in 1 cup
105mg / 100 g
Per 100 g vs. a Usual Portion
Why the food that ranks first per 100 g can give less in a real serving.
| Food | Usual portion | Per 100 g | Per portion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 egg (50 g) | 294mg | 147mg |
| Salmon | 1 fillet (125 g) | 103mg | 129mg |
| Chicken breast | 1 cup (135 g) | 75.7mg | 102mg |
| Chickpeas | 1 cup (180 g) | 42.5mg | 76mg |
| Cauliflower | 1 cup (107 g) | 44.3mg | 47mg |
| Peanuts | 1 handful (28 g) | 64.6mg | 18mg |
A 50 g egg gives about as much choline as a whole fillet of salmon and twice what a cup of chickpeas does, which is why diets without eggs have to work harder to reach 425 to 550 mg.
What Choline Does in the Body
Choline is neither a vitamin nor a mineral, but the body cannot run without it. In 1998 the US Institute of Medicine set the first daily intake for it, after studies found that people fed a diet without choline developed liver damage.
Its main job is building cell membranes. Most of the choline in the body sits in phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, the fats that make up the outer wall of every cell and the coating around nerves. Nerve cells also turn choline into acetylcholine, the messenger that carries signals for memory, mood and muscle control.
The liver needs it to export fat. Fat leaves the liver packed in particles (VLDL) whose shell is made with phosphatidylcholine. Without enough choline, the fat stays behind, which is why a choline-poor diet leads to fatty liver.
Why Some People Need More Choline
The liver makes choline with an enzyme called PEMT, and estrogen switches that enzyme up. In studies where volunteers ate a diet without choline, most men and women past menopause developed fatty liver or muscle damage, while fewer than half of younger women did. Common gene variants in PEMT and in folate metabolism also change how much a person needs from food.
Choline, Folate, and Vitamin B12
Choline shares a job with folate and vitamin B12. All three help turn homocysteine back into the amino acid methionine: folate and B12 do it by one route, and betaine, which the body makes from choline, by another. When folate runs low, the body uses more choline to keep up, and the reverse.
A Day of Choline With and Without the Egg
A sample day built only from foods in the Caltide library, in usual portions, with no supplements.
| Meal | Food | Amount | Choline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Egg | 50g | 147mg |
| Breakfast | Milk | 236g | 42mg |
| Lunch | Chicken breast | 135g | 102mg |
| Lunch | Quinoa | 185g | 43mg |
| Snack | Almonds | 28g | 15mg |
| Dinner | Salmon | 125g | 129mg |
| Dinner | Potato | 200g | 29mg |
| Dinner | Spinach | 30g | 5.8mg |
| Total | 513mg |
Take the breakfast egg away and the same day drops from 513 mg to 366 mg, 86% of the 425 mg adequate intake for women. A single food carries 29% of the day.
Who Is Most Likely to Be Low in Choline
US surveys find that most adults eat less choline than the adequate intake, and so do most pregnant women. NIH names three groups most likely to run low: women in pregnancy, people with gene variants that raise their need, and people fed by drip (parenteral nutrition). Diets without eggs or meat also make the target harder to reach. Real deficiency is rare, but a long shortfall is linked to fatty liver and muscle damage.
Common Choline Mistakes
Trusting the multivitamin. Most multivitamins, and many prenatal vitamins, have little or no choline. The label has to list it.
Eating only egg whites. Nearly all the choline in an egg is in the yolk.
Reading the compound, not the choline. A capsule of 500 mg choline bitartrate holds about 205 mg of choline. The rest is the tartrate it is bound to.
How Much Choline You Need
There is no RDA for choline, only an adequate intake, because there is not enough data to set one. EFSA uses 400 mg for all adults, 480 mg in pregnancy and 520 mg while breastfeeding.
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - 3 years | 200mg | 200mg |
| 4 - 8 years | 250mg | 250mg |
| 9 - 13 years | 375mg | 375mg |
| 14 - 18 years | 550mg | 400mg |
| 19+ years | 550mg | 425mg |
| Pregnancy | - | 450mg |
| Breastfeeding | - | 550mg |
Choline Supplement Forms
Supplements are a second source of choline, sold alone or in some prenatal and B-complex products. Each form carries a different share of choline by weight.
| Form | Choline in 100 mg | For 100 mg choline |
|---|---|---|
| Choline chloride | ~75mg | ~130mg |
| Choline bitartrate | ~41mg | ~240mg |
| Alpha-GPC (choline alfoscerate) | ~40mg | ~250mg |
| Citicoline (CDP-choline) | ~20mg | ~500mg |
| Phosphatidylcholine | ~13mg | ~770mg |
Lecithin Is Not a Choline Pill
Lecithin from soy or sunflower is a mix of fats in which phosphatidylcholine is only one part, and choline is only 13% of that. It is the weakest way to buy choline by the capsule.
Before You Add a Choline Supplement
Count what food already gives. Two eggs and a salmon fillet from the Caltide library come to about 420 mg without a pill. Supplements make most sense for people who eat no eggs or meat, and in pregnancy, after talking it through with a doctor.
Ask a doctor or pharmacist before combining a supplement with a medicine.
Tracking Choline in Caltide
- Not in your daily total yetCaltide does not add up choline in the Nutrition tab yet. Packaged foods rarely list it, so a day's total would read low.
- Shown on every food pageEach food in the calorie library lists its choline per 100 g next to the B vitamins, so you can check eggs, fish or beans before you plan a meal.
Choline Sources and References
The figures and claims on this page are checked against these sources. Food amounts come from USDA FoodData Central.
Questions About Choline
Adults need 425 to 550 mg a day: the US adequate intake is 550 mg for men and 425 mg for women, rising to 450 mg in pregnancy and 550 mg while breastfeeding. EFSA uses 400 mg for all adults.
In the Caltide food library, egg yolk has the most: 820 mg per 100 g. Caviar (491 mg) and Egg (294 mg) come next.
About 150 mg in one 50 g boiled egg. The Caltide library lists 294 mg per 100 g, and nearly all of it is in the yolk, so egg whites alone give very little.
Yes, but it takes planning. Beans, chickpeas, tofu, quinoa, nuts and cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower all have some. Cooked chickpeas have 42.5 mg per 100 g, about a seventh of an egg, so portions have to be large or a supplement can fill the gap.
No. Lecithin is a fatty mix rich in phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylcholine is only about 13% choline by weight. A 1,000 mg lecithin capsule gives far less than 130 mg of choline.
Usually little or none. Few multivitamins include it, and many prenatal vitamins do not either, so check the label for choline if you rely on one.
Yes, from supplements. The US upper limit for adults is 3,500 mg a day. Above it, people report a fishy body odor, sweating, vomiting and low blood pressure.
The baby's brain and spinal cord need it to develop, and the mother's stores drop as the baby draws on them. US surveys find that most pregnant women eat less than the 450 mg adequate intake.
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