For more information about the health effects, please refer to the background paper by Rima Obeid and Therese Karlsson (Obeid & Karlsson, 2023).
Dietary sources and intake. Choline is found in foods as free choline or esterified forms (phosphatidylcholine, phosphocholine, glycerophosphocholine and sphingomyelin). It is ubiquitous in foods, but high in liver, eggs and wheat germ. Main sources are meat, dairy, eggs and grains. Dietary intake data from Nordic and Baltic populations are scarce. Average choline intake was 317–468 mg/day (males) and 317–404 mg/day (females) in adults aged 18 to ≥75 y, and 171–180 mg/day (1-3 y), 256–285 mg/day (3-10 y), and 292–373 mg/day (10-18 y) in children (Lemming & Pitsi, 2022).
Main functions. Choline has roles in one-carbon metabolism, as a component of cell membranes (phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine, the main storage form of choline), in lipoprotein metabolism (VLDL assembly and secretion from the liver), and as a precursor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (Obeid & Karlsson, 2023).