Choline: An Essential Nutrient (Not a B Vitamin), Sources and Supplements
Choline is an essential nutrient but not a B vitamin. Food sources, adequate intakes in the US, Canada and EU, deficiency, forms, upper levels, safety and what supplements can and cannot show.
Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.
Overview
Choline is an essential nutrient, but it is not a B vitamin. It is often listed next to the B vitamins because it works closely with folate in the body and is sold in the same aisle. The body can make some choline, but a draft opinion from EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, says that dietary deficiency can cause fatty liver and liver and muscle damage, which indicates that the body's own production can be insufficient. [1] Official bodies set an Adequate Intake (AI), not an RDA, because there was not enough evidence to estimate a requirement. [2] This page is information only. It does not tell anyone what to take.What choline does in the body
A review of the science describes four main pathways: choline is used to make the nerve messenger acetylcholine, trimethylamine (a gut-bacteria product), betaine and phospholipids. [2] Phosphatidylcholine, a cell-membrane building block, is also needed to make the particles that carry fat out of the liver. [2] Through betaine, choline takes part in the body's handling of homocysteine; see betaine.Food sources
Foods of animal origin contain more choline per weight than plant foods. In the review's food table, which compiles US food-composition data, cooked beef liver and hard-boiled egg are highest. [2]| Food (mg total choline per 100 g) | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Beef liver, cooked | 431 | Review of US food data, 2018 [2] |
| Egg, hard boiled | 225.7 | Same |
| Salmon, cooked | 90.4 | Same |
| Chicken breast, cooked | 61.8 | Same |
| Broccoli, cooked | 40.1 | Same |
| Milk, 2% fat | 16.5 | Same |
| White rice, cooked | 2.1 | Same |
Most choline in animal foods is phosphatidylcholine. [2] More foods, with serving sizes, are on foods high in choline. In US national survey data from 2007 to 2008, average intake was 396 mg a day in men and 260 mg a day in women. [2] Intake below an AI does not by itself prove a person is short of choline. [2]
Official intake levels
Choline has an AI everywhere it has been set. Levels differ by country and body, and these are published levels for groups, not personal advice. More detail by age is on choline intake levels; the terms are explained at RDA, AI, DV and UL.| Group | AI (total choline, mg a day) | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Males 19 to 50, US and Canada | 550 | Health Canada page of the DRI tables, dated 2025 [3] |
| Females 19 to 50, US and Canada | 425 | Same [3] |
| Pregnancy 19 to 50, US and Canada | 450 | Same [3] |
| Lactation 19 to 50, US and Canada | 550 | Same [3] |
| Adults, EU | 400 | EFSA, 2016 [4] |
| Pregnant / lactating women, EU | 480 / 520 | EFSA, 2016 [4] |
On US food and supplement labels, the FDA Daily Value for choline is 550 mg. [5] That is a labeling reference, not a personal requirement.
Deficiency and who may need assessment
Established nutritional role / deficiency. In a controlled study described in a review, healthy men on a choline-restricted diet showed signs of liver damage within three weeks, and muscle damage was also reported. [2] These were depletion studies, and people on ordinary diets rarely show such signs. Details, including who may be more susceptible, are on choline deficiency. Do not diagnose deficiency from symptoms. A 2026 controlled-feeding study found plasma choline and betaine could separate low from adequate intake in a research setting, but it was not a routine clinical test. [6] If you are worried about your intake, or have liver disease, ask a clinician or dietitian.Evidence by use
| Use | What the sources found | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Preventing deficiency | Depletion studies show liver and muscle effects when choline is withheld. [2] | Established |
| Pregnancy and infant brain development | A 2025 systematic review found current evidence insufficient to support or refute benefit. [7] See choline in pregnancy. | Insufficient evidence |
| Memory or focus in healthy adults | Proper evidence not found. A PubMed search for systematic reviews of choline supplements and cognition in healthy adults returned nothing usable. | Marketing claim |
| Treating fatty liver that is not caused by low choline | Proper evidence not found in the sources read. | Insufficient evidence |
Forms
Food choline comes in water-soluble forms (free choline, phosphocholine, glycerophosphocholine) and lipid-soluble forms (phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin), which are absorbed differently. [2] Supplements add other forms. They are compared on choline supplement forms. Results for one form should not be applied to another.Quality and labels
Supplements vary in form and amount, and multi-ingredient products can duplicate choline. Check the label for the form and amount per serving, and see quality testing.Related
All vitamins · Folate (B9) · Vitamin B12Frequently asked questions
Is choline a B vitamin?
No. It is an essential nutrient that works with folate and B vitamins, but it is not classed as a B vitamin on this site. [2]
Which foods have the most choline?
Liver and eggs are highest per 100 g in the review's table, followed by fish, meat and some vegetables and nuts. [2]
How much choline do adults need?
No requirement can be estimated, so bodies publish an AI. The US and Canada list 550 mg (men) and 425 mg (women) a day; EFSA lists 400 mg for adults. [3] [4]
Is there an upper limit for choline?
The US and Canadian UL for adults is 3,500 mg a day. [3] EFSA's consultation draft noted that earlier EU committees had not set one. [1]
Can too much choline be a problem?
At very high study amounts, low blood pressure, nausea, diarrhea and a fishy body odor were reported. [1] Ask a clinician about any supplement.
More details: evidence, limits and cautions
The details behind this page: cautions, limits of the evidence and where sources disagree. Open any note to read it.
How to read the evidence labels
Labels used on this page: established nutritional role / deficiency, mixed, promising but limited, insufficient evidence, marketing claim. Product-by-product claims for brain-focused ingredients are on the citicoline and alpha-GPC page.
Side effects and upper levels
Gut bacteria turn some choline into TMA, which the liver turns into TMAO. The EFSA draft notes that one metabolomic study suggested a link between higher choline intake and cardiovascular disease, and that the dietary intake of choline was not reported in those studies. [1] In a four-week trial in healthy adults, choline bitartrate supplements raised blood TMAO and platelet reactivity, while four eggs a day or phosphatidylcholine supplements did not. [8] Those are lab markers, not heart attacks or strokes, and the long-term meaning is not settled.
Medicines, pregnancy, children, kidney, liver and surgery
- Medicines: Proper evidence not found for specific interactions in the sources read (the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet could not be opened). Ask a pharmacist and see medication interactions.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: official levels are higher; talk to your prenatal clinician before adding any supplement (prenatal vitamins).
- Children: upper levels are lower for children and set by age. [3] Keep supplements out of reach and call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US) if a child has swallowed many.
- Kidney or liver disease: Proper evidence not found in the sources read for supplement guidance. The TMAO trial above enrolled people with normal kidney function. [8] Ask your care team.
- Before surgery: tell the surgical team about every supplement (vitamins before surgery).
References
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), NDA Panel. Draft scientific opinion on Dietary Reference Values for choline (public consultation draft, February 2016). A consultation draft, not the final opinion; the final opinion page could not be read. Read 2026-10-23.
- Dietary Choline Intake: Current State of Knowledge Across the Life Cycle. Nutrients 2018 (review). Read 2026-10-23.
- Health Canada. Dietary reference intakes tables: Reference values for vitamins. Page dated 2025-11-19; the choline values are the US and Canada Dietary Reference Intakes. Read 2026-10-23 through a web-fetch tool.
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Dietary reference values: EFSA publishes advice on choline. Published 17 August 2016. Read 2026-10-23.
- US Food and Drug Administration. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels. Content current as of 03/05/2024. Read 2026-10-23.
- Choline and betaine concentrations in plasma discriminate levels of dietary choline intake in healthy adults. Am J Clin Nutr 2026 (controlled feeding study). Read 2026-10-23.
- Choline During Pregnancy and Child Neurodevelopment: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials and Observational Studies. Nutrients 2025. Read 2026-10-23.
- Dietary Choline Supplements, but Not Eggs, Raise Fasting TMAO Levels in Participants with Normal Renal Function: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Am J Med 2021. Read 2026-10-23.