How does choline affect pregnancy?

How does choline affect pregnancy?

Getting enough choline in pregnancy is important because it helps your baby’s brain and spinal cord develop properly and may protect your baby against neural tube defects. Pregnant women need 450 milligrams of choline per day.

What is choline side effects?

Choline may cause a stomachache, diarrhea, or loose stools. This can happen at normal doses. Large amounts (about 20 g) of choline may cause other side effects. These can include dizziness, low blood pressure (hypotension), and fishy body odor.

Is choline important during pregnancy?

Researchers have obtained further evidence that during pregnancy, the presence of adequate levels of choline, an essential nutrient, in the mother’s system has a protective role in the development of the fetal brain and on behavior in children following birth.

When is choline most important in pregnancy?

Maternal choline supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy improves infant information processing speed: a randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding study.

How much choline is safe during pregnancy?

So, how much choline does a pregnant woman need? The current recommendation for pregnancy is 450 milligrams a day, and the number jumps to 550 milligrams a day for breastfeeding moms.

How much choline can I take while pregnant?

The choline adequate intake (AI) level is 425 mg choline/day for women of reproductive age with upward adjustments to 450 mg choline/day during pregnancy and 550 mg choline/day during lactation [3].

Why is choline bad for you?

Getting too much choline can cause a fishy body odor, vomiting, heavy sweating and salivation, low blood pressure, and liver damage. Some research also suggests that high amounts of choline may increase the risk of heart disease.

How does choline affect mood?

We previously found that choline supplementation increased adult hippocampal neurogenesis, a function compromised by stress, lowered in depression, and boosted by antidepressants; and increased levels of growth factors linked to depression, like brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

Is folic acid the same as choline?

Choline is needed for the biosynthesis of cell membranes as a methyl-group donor and for cholinergic neurotransmission (7). Folate is interrelated metabolically to choline; both methyltetrahydrofolate and betaine (derived from choline) can methylate homocysteine to produce methionine (7–11).

How much choline should a pregnant woman take?

Should you take choline before pregnancy?

When should an expecting mother start this choline regimen? Ideally she would start it before conception, just like supplementation of that other essential nutrient, folate, and in combination with a healthy diet.

What form of choline is best for pregnancy?

The best source of choline dietary intake is from beef liver. If you’re less than enthusiastic about eating liver, eggs are also a reliable source of choline. One egg yolk (note: the egg white does not provide choline) meets about one-third of your daily choline needs.

Is 25 mg of choline enough to meet the demands of pregnancy?

Conclusion: These data suggest that an increment of 25 mg choline/d to meet the demands of pregnancy is insufficient and show that a higher maternal choline intake increases the use of choline as a methyl donor in both maternal and fetal compartments. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01127022 .

Does maternal choline intake increase dimethylglycine levels in cord plasma?

The higher maternal choline intake also led to a doubling of dimethylglycine in cord plasma (P = 0.002).

What are the side effects of choline?

Side Effects When taken by mouth: Choline is likely safe for most people when taken in doses below 3.5 grams daily. Taking high doses of choline is possibly unsafe. Taking doses over 3.5 grams daily might cause side effects such as sweating, a fishy body odor, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Is choline safe for babies?

Children: Choline is LIKELY SAFE for most children when taken by mouth in appropriate amounts. Taking high doses of choline by mouth is POSSIBLY UNSAFE for children due to the increased risk of side effects. Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Choline is LIKELY SAFE when taken by mouth and used appropriately.