Choline Essential During Pregnancy
Choline is an essential amino acid that is important for overall well-being in men and women, and is especially crucial for pregnant women, because the dietary levels of choline in the mother directly affect the fetal brain development, similar to folic acid, according to Zeisel (Zeisel SH. J Nutr. 2011 Jan 26. Epub ahead of print).
Along with its overall roles of protecting the structure of cell membranes, helping in the breakdown and use of fat for energy, and transporting and eliminating cholesterol from the body, choline is also important to female and male fertility.
Studies in animals have shown that choline plays an essential role in developing the memory center in the brain by helping to increase the number of cells in that area during fetal development.
Although it is well-known that folic acid supplementation decreases the risk for embryonic neural tube defects (NTDs), the role of choline in this area is not as widely known. According to the current literature, choline deficiency increases the risk for NTDs, which develop between the third and fourth weeks of gestation, often before a woman is aware that she is pregnant.
Women with diets rich in choline have a decreased risk for NTDs. Choline is often included in daily vitamin supplementations, and a large variety of healthy foods provide good amounts of choline (Table). The recommended daily intake of choline for pregnant women is 450 mg; for lactating women, the recommended amount increases to 550 mg (Higdon J. Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, http:/lpi.oregonestate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/choline).
A woman’s need for choline does not end after her childbearing years, however. As suggested by Zeisel, postmenopausal women must ensure that they are consuming sufficient dietary choline to avoid liver or muscle dysfunction that is associated with a deficiency of this nutrient.
Furthermore, according to Zeisel and colleagues, before menopause more than 50% of women are resistant to organ dysfunction associated with choline deficiency, because estrogen induces the gene phosphatidyletha nolamine-N-methyltransferase (PEMT), which triggers the synthesis of choline. Other premenopausal women are unresponsive to estrogen induction of PEMT, which makes it important for these women to receive dietary supplementation of choline