Choline Foods: 5 Foods Rich in the Methylator Vitamin
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018
Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD
Choline is one of the most important – yet most overlooked – vitamins that our bodies need to function optimally. We highly recommend choline supplementation and eating choline-rich foods to all of our readers.
Choline used to be called vitamin J, but now the water-soluble vitamin is most often grouped within the B-vitamin complex.
“What is choline good for then?”
When it comes to hormones, choline – as a methylator – can donor methyl rings to estrogen molecules (which by nature are structurally incomplete), this methylates the molecule and renders it inert in the body, making choline very important for men with high estrogen levels.
Another well-known benefit of choline is its ability to reduce “brain fog” and enhance cognitive functions, this is because choline is a necessary precursor to the brain neurotransmitter; acetylcholine.
The third and possibly most important benefit of choline is its ability to prevent the formation of a possible life-threatening condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that choline is the most important micronutrient for optimal liver health.
What makes getting enough choline even more important, is the fact that studies have shown how majority of the American test-subjects are noticeably deficient in the vitamin. This may partly explain why currently more than 100 million US citizens have some degree of fatty liver disease.
Here are five foods loaded with choline:
1. Beef Liver
After writing several articles just like this but with different vitamins and minerals, one thing has been obvious.
The liver is a good source of nearly all important micronutrients.
Certainly, a true superfood.
When it comes to choline, beef liver is once again one of the top sources. Eating 100 grams of beef liver gives you 471mg’s of choline (85% RDA).
2. Egg Yolks
Another food that regularly takes the top spot in these “Foods High in X vitamin or mineral” articles is egg yolks.
Let me just tell you that the people who throw away the yolk and only consume the whites are idiots. Yes. Idiots.
Nearly all of the necessary micronutrients for optimal health can be found hidden inside the yolk. This goes for vitamins A, D, E, and nearly all of the B-vitamins, calcium, selenium, potassium…
…And of course, our good methylating friend; choline. 100 grams of egg yolks is enough to supply 682 mg’s of choline (124% RDA).
3. Wild Cod
Fish is generally very healthy, a good source of protein, and rich in micronutrients.
What you have to make sure though when optimizing testosterone levels is that fatty-fish tends to be very high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (which are known to lower testosterone levels) and that farmed fish (and fish oil supplements) is ridiculously high in toxic heavy-metals and fed mostly with soy pellets.
So in order to get the benefits of fish without the negatives, opt for wild caught fish with low-fat content. Atlantic cod is a good example, as it only contains less than a gram of fat.
100 grams of wild Atlantic cod also supplies 291 mg’s of choline (52% RDA).
4. Shiitake Mushrooms
Many mushrooms are high in naturally occurring vitamin D, as well as good sources of polysaccharides which may promote immune function and enhance liver health.
Eating more mushrooms is also a very effective way to lower estrogen levels via aromatase inhibition.
Not to mention how filling they are despite having extremely low-calorie content, making them good foods for weight loss.
When it comes to choline, shiitake mushrooms are a great source, 100 grams providing 202 mg’s of the vitamin (36% RDA).
5. Beef Steak
Beef is a good source of high-quality protein…
…And it contains several important micronutrients along with some saturated fat to further promote testosterone production.
Also, who doesn’t want to eat more steak?
Beef steak is a relatively good source of choline, 100 grams providing you with 133 mg’s of the micronutrient (24% RDA).
Conclusion
As you can see, there are some foods with high amounts of choline…
…But the truth is that most people rarely consume enough of those foods on a daily basis to get good amounts of choline into their system.
Which is why we use and recommend inexpensive choline bitartrate supplementation for everyone (affiliate link). Alongside with of course, eating choline rich food sources as much as you can.
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Ali Kuoppala
