Choline

Choline and Miscarriage

Choline necessary for embryonic growth and cardiac development

Low dietary choline and riboflavin affect embryonic growth and cardiac development in mice. Adequate choline and riboflavin may also play a role in the prevention of these pregnancy complications in women.

Choline and Birth Defects

Choline reduces risk of birth defects

A thorough review of the literature appears to identify that maternal dietary intake of B vitamins, choline and methionine may reduce the expression of potentially harmful genes.

Birth Defects

Choline prevents birth defects caused by ethanol

Choline supplementation significantly attenuated ethanol's effects on birth and brain weight, incisor emergence, and most behavioral measures. In fact, behavioral performance of ethanol-exposed subjects treated with choline did not differ from that of controls. Importantly, choline supplementation did not influence peak blood alcohol level or metabolism, indicating that choline's effects were not due to differential alcohol exposure.

Choline does not boost intelligence of offspring

Gestational and newborn choline concentrations in the physiologic range showed no correlation with childhood intelligence.

Choline and Inflammation

Choline lowers inflammation

Compared to those whose diets contained <250 mg/day of choline, subjects whose diets supplied >310 mg of choline daily had, on average:

22% lower concentrations of C-reactive protein
26% lower concentrations of interleukin-6
6% lower concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha

Immune System and Miscarriage

Choline and Insulin

Choline increases insulin and glucose

Intraperitoneal injection of choline (30-90 mg.kg-1) produced a dose-dependent increase in serum insulin, glucose and choline levels in rats.

Choline lowers insulin sensitivity on a high fat diet

Choline deficiency lowered fasting plasma insulin (from 983 to 433) and improved glucose tolerance on a high-fat diet.

Insulin Resistance and Miscarriage

Choline Information

66% of lactating women are deficient in choline

On average, lactating women in our study ate two-thirds of the recommended intake for choline (Adequate Intake = 550 mg choline/d). Dietary choline intake (no supplement) correlated with breast-milk phosphatidylcholine and plasma choline concentrations. A supplement further increased breast-milk choline, betaine, and phosphocholine concentrations and increased plasma choline and betaine concentrations.