14 Benefits of Choline and its Importance in Sport

Choline is a water-soluble amine with important functions in the body, such as neurotransmitter synthesis and cell signalling. Originally isolated from egg yolk, where it is commonly known as lecithin, this substance is important for everyone’s health, from sedentary people to elite athletes.

However, the qualities of choline go further, which is why you need it for the proper functioning of certain organs. Discover its main benefits and how to include it in your diet.

Take note of its 14 beneficial properties for the body!

1. It supports the optimal functioning of nerve signals and memory. Acetylcholine is responsible for controlling mood, emotions and behaviour. Acetylcholine is required for the transmission of muscle stimuli, which explains its involvement in vital functions such as breathing, blood pressure control, heartbeat and metabolic processes in general.
2. It is important for the synthesis of myelin and, therefore, for the protection of the nervous system. Myelin is a substance that protects the nerves.
3. It is involved in the synthesis of various hormones and enzymes, among which melatonin stands out. It also plays a role in creatine metabolism.
4. It is responsible for transporting fats (triglycerides) from the liver to other areas of the body that require them. If choline intake is not sufficient, this vital process is inevitably interrupted and the liver accumulates a high fat content. To make matters worse, from that point onwards, it loses its ability to properly detoxify the body, leaving its functions limited.
5. It reduces asthma symptoms.
6. It improves muscle function and helps improve mental energy, focus and concentration in the sports context. It is able to reduce the response time needed to process the movement in question during physical exercise.

Other lesser-known but equally important benefits are:

7. It supports the detoxification of chemicals and pollutants, helping to excrete residues of heavy metals, such as alcohol and drugs
8. It promotes fat metabolism by transporting triglycerides and other fats to the tissues. It also prevents fatty degeneration by reducing, together with tortosine and methionine, possible liver damage.
9. It is necessary for proper brain function. It increases acetylcholine levels in the brain, helping to enhance memory while also preventing the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, among other dementias, which occur when acetylcholine levels are low. Given its role as a neurotransmitter, choline is relaxing and reduces stress.
10. It forms part of the structure of the body’s cell walls, protecting nerve cells, the brain and bone marrow.
11. It prevents nervous system disorders and movement disorders that arise as a result of irregularities in acetylcholine in the brain. It also prevents the formation of gallstones.
12. It reduces LDL or bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels, increasing HDL or good cholesterol and preventing cholesterol deposits in the form of gallstones.
13. It regulates blood pressure levels. It also strengthens capillary walls, helping in the treatment of tinnitus or ringing in the ears.
14. It reduces the risk of atherosclerosis.

What are its main uses during exercise?

Choline metabolism during exercise may be altered through various hypothetical mechanisms.

Acetylcholine synthesis

Reduced concentrations of free choline have been associated with weakened impulse transmission and impaired skeletal muscle performance. Since it is a key component of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, reductions in free choline may lead to an acute decrease in acetylcholine synthesis.

Such a reduction in acetylcholine production may influence muscle performance by inhibiting the motor neurone’s ability to communicate with the motor end plate during the muscle excitation-contraction process.

Muscle membrane integrity

Choline can also be incorporated as a phospholipid (phosphatidylcholine) into cell membranes. Prolonged choline deficiencies allow the body to mobilise the phosphatidylcholine located in its own membranes. In doing so, they compromise membrane integrity and allow intramembrane materials to leak into the surrounding fluid.

Furthermore, the increase in the amount of serum creatine phosphokinase leaking from porous muscle membranes has been suggested as a diagnostic tool for choline deficiency.

The stripping of phospholipids from muscle cell membranes reduces the mechanical stress that these cells can withstand, causing muscle damage that could be associated with muscle fatigue similar to that induced by reduced acetylcholine availability.

Changes in free choline concentrations during exercise

We could say without fear of being wrong that free choline concentrations decrease during intense endurance exercise. It is possible that the depletion of free choline does not depend directly on the type of exercise, but rather on its duration and intensity.

This could be why longer periods of exercise at low intensities or shorter periods of exercise at higher intensities are not, in principle, sufficient to deplete free choline concentrations below baseline levels.

This explains why, in order to significantly reduce the amount of free choline found in the blood, one must be exposed to relatively long work (> 2h) at a relatively high work intensity (>70% VO2max).

What is choline in nutrition?

Among the foods rich in choline (nutrients) are those listed below. Their concentration is expressed in milligrams of choline per 100 grams of food:

It is based on the fact that people have different requirements throughout their lives in relation to the recommended daily amount of choline. Added to this is the fact that each individual has their own genetic characteristics, which imply a greater or lesser choline requirement for health.

Despite the existence of foods rich in choline, it is not easy to achieve the adequate supply the body needs through food alone. This is why we recommend that you take care of your diet through choline intake via food supplements that help prevent deficiency of this essential nutrient in the body.

How to take supplements? Check the dose here

Choline supplementation is essential for maintaining normal physiological concentrations, especially in active people. One study showed that the intake of 2.8 g of choline citrate one hour before a 20-mile run maintained plasma choline concentrations and improved performance compared with a placebo.

Although foods rich in choline exist, obtaining the right amount through diet alone can be difficult. This is where food supplements, such as HSNstore’s “Brain Care”, are useful. This supplement provides an adequate dose of choline, helping to maintain normal physiological concentrations and improve performance.

Buy products with Choline at HSN

How to introduce it into the diet?

Choline is often consumed together with inositol, a “pseudo-vitamin of the B group” that is vital for physical and mental health. Both nutrients, recommended in a daily dose of around 300 mg, play important roles in cell function and lipid metabolism, helping to regulate cholesterol and prevent fat accumulation in the liver.

Inositol is especially significant for brain function, as it participates in the synthesis of important neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine and serotonin. In addition, inositol helps regulate mood and provides cognitive support, acting as support during periods of stress or emotional overload.

Buy Choline and Inositol together at HSN

Does it have side effects?

You may find it curious to know that excessively high consumption of choline (above 8-20 g/day) tends to produce a very unpleasant body odour in the person who ingests it, to the point that some compare it to rotten fish, which disappears when intake is stopped.

At the same time, a choline overdose, with amounts exceeding 10 g/day, may cause other symptoms including vomiting, increased salivation and hypotension associated with sweating or dizziness.

People who suffer from the so-called fish odour syndrome, known as the metabolic disorder congenital trimethylaminuria, cannot process choline properly due to a deficiency of the enzyme trimethylamine, so they should be careful when ingesting it.

Bibliographic sources:

1. Coleman, A. (2006). A dictionary of psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
2. Examine.com
3. Steven H. Zeisel, M.D. and Kerry-Ann da Costa, Ph.D. Choline: An Essential Nutrient for Public Health. Nutr Rev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 Nov 25.
4. Secades JJ1, Frontera G. CDP-choline: pharmacological and clinical review. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol. 1995 Oct;17 Suppl B:1-54.
5. A meta-analysis of inositol for depression and anxiety disorders. Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE): Quality-assessed Reviews [Internet].

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