{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/69c1494f3bbfcfe8db5c89b2/6acd786a0c6b30397bda4c44?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"What is choline? The nutrient you've probably never heard of","description":"<p>885. You need choline every day. Nobody can tell you exactly how much. There&#39;s no RDA for choline, because there isn&#39;t enough data to set one. What we have instead is an estimate — and it traces back largely to a single study that enrolled only men. The numbers for women were scaled down from there, mostly by body size.</p><p>Choline is an essential nutrient a lot of people have never heard of. Your liver makes some of it, but not enough, so the rest has to come from food. It&#39;s needed to build phosphatidylcholine and the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and it plays an outsized role in brain development before birth and in early childhood.</p><p><br></p><p>Monica walks through what&#39;s known and what isn&#39;t:</p><ul><li>Why choline gets grouped with the B vitamins even though it isn&#39;t one</li><li>What severe deficiency does to the liver, and what recent research links low intake to in older adults</li><li>Why there&#39;s no RDA for choline, and what an Adequate Intake is actually based on</li><li>How estrogen changes the picture, and why premenopausal women may need less than men rather than more</li><li>Why pregnancy may call for more than the current recommendation, and why most prenatal vitamins leave choline out or include very little</li><li>What ACOG advises for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive</li><li>Where choline shows up in food, from egg yolks and liver to soybeans, mushrooms, and cruciferous vegetables</li><li>Why falling short of the Adequate Intake isn&#39;t the same as being deficient</li><li>The prostate cancer findings, and why a nutrient that supports healthy cell division can behave differently in someone who already has cancer</li><li>The TMAO question, and why fish raises TMAO more than eggs or beef do</li><li>Who might reasonably consider a supplement, and why more isn&#39;t better</li></ul><p><br></p><p><a href=\"https://nutritionovereasy.com/2026/09/choline-content-of-common-foods/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Choline Content of Common Foods</a></p><p><br></p><p>Nutrition science you can trust, in plain English.</p><p>Have a food or nutrition question for a future episode? Email nutrition@quickanddirtytips.com. To book Monica for a live or virtual event, visit wellnessworkshere.com.</p><p><br></p><p>New to Nutrition Diva? Check out our special <a href=\"https://open.spotify.com/playlist/59vwhJqu3bTvSCRsXmbqY6\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Spotify playlist</a> for a collection of the best episodes curated by our team and Monica herself!</p><p>Follow Nutrition Diva on <a href=\"https://facebook.com/qdtnutrition\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook</a> and <a href=\"https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/nutrition-diva-newsletter\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">subscribe to the newsletter</a> for more diet and nutrition tips.</p><p>Find out about Monica&#39;s keynotes and other programs at <a href=\"https://wellnessworkshere.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">WellnessWorksHere.com</a></p><p>Nutrition Diva is a part of the<a href=\"https://quickanddirtytips.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> Quick and Dirty Tips</a> podcast network.</p>","author_name":"QuickAndDirtyTips.com, Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN"}