Do you need more choline?
THE HEALTHY SKEPTIC
The supplement is touted as beneficial for mood, mental acuity and heart health. But many get enough in their diets.
From arginine to zinc, there's a frighteningly long list of nutrients that you can't live without. You certainly don't want to fall short of choline -- a nutrient that the body uses to make cell membranes and key compounds in the brain.
Choline is found in many foods, including eggs, beef, salmon, wheat germ and broccoli. That's the good news about essential nutrients: They tend to show up regularly in foods, which helps explain how humans managed to survive quite a while before the invention of the multivitamin.
But not everyone is willing to take chances on diet alone. Like many other nutrients, choline is now a commodity in the supplement market. Touted as an aid for mood, mental sharpness and cardiovascular health, choline supplements are sold at health food stores everywhere.
GNC sells 100 tablets of 250-milligram choline for about $7. Users are instructed to take one or two tablets each day. You can buy 60 tablets of 500-milligram choline from Physician Formulas for about $15. Physician Formulas also offers choline as one of the main ingredients (along with ginkgo and ginseng) in Mind Power Rx, a supplement that supposedly improves alertness and focus. Ninety capsules -- each containing 25 milligrams of choline -- costs about $30. Choline is also showing up in multivitamins: Even Flintstones Complete now includes 38 milligrams of choline per tablet.
The claims: According to the GNC label, its choline supplement "supports brain, liver and cardiovascular health." The Physician Formulas website claims that "most people who take a choline supplement notice having more mental focus and being more alert." The company also claims that Mind Power Rx will improve memory, concentration and focus. The Flintstones Vitamins website says that the choline in Flintstones Complete will "support healthy brain function."
The bottom line: Choline is undoubtedly a vital nutrient, and anyone who skimps on it does so at their own peril, says Dr. Steven Zeisel, professor of nutrition and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the director of the UNC Clinical Nutrition Research Center. But since many people already get plenty of choline in their diets, the value of supplements is uncertain.
